Heart of Melting Blood: The Whistling Gale
by Lone Wolf NEO
Summary: Hey, Mister Redhaired! That lady over there wants to have a duel with you. What? You don't want to? That sucks, because I think both of you will make an awesome couple... forget what I just said. Chapter updated, but some of the contents are missing.
1. A Promise That Could Not Be Fulfilled

**Heart of Melting Blood  
The Whistling Gale  
Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note:** Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiaries everything inside this story without his knowledge.

**Please see:** The Whistling Gale, the third instalment of the _Heart of Melting Blood_ saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ ended. This chapter is a prologue that takes place in the universe of Soul Calibur and several characters from the series are featured.

**Prologue  
A Promise That Could Not Be Fulfilled**

Date: JUNE 21st, 1580  
Time: 23:30 HOURS  
Area: ALONG THE YANGTZE RIVER

It was a silent, eerie night. The bamboo forest was frighteningly still. No sign of night creatures could be spotted, and neither did nocturnal noise that brought it to life. It was simply grim, dark, quiet, and with the absence of moonlight it was quite breath-taking scenery.

Or would it?

A robed man ran through the dense vegetation. He was running away from something, and it was not the tiger that he feared. The predator he was evading was more determined, armed to teeth and was coming in numbers. Massive numbers.

On top of that, the predator was unseen.

The escapee glanced behind him. It was empty, but he knew the danger of anything unseen to untrained eyes. He increased the speed of his run and dashed down the pathless route. He went faster than before; it seemed he was desperate to elude the unseen.

His running pace abruptly halted. The robed man backed off. The unseen had him outran. He retreated, only to find himself obstructed by the unseen. He looked around in annoyance, and realized he was surrounded.

The clouds dissipated. The moon finally appeared. Under the celestial silver light, the unseen revealed itself. Bands of masked warrior monks, black-clothed to blend with the darkness of night, slowly approached the escapee in caution. It seemed even with exceptional escaping skill, the robed man would never outrun the so-called unseen for the rest of his life.

The monks paused. The robed man saw a man approaching him from the side of the circle. The newcomer was donning dark blue monastery outfit, and was not impressed at the robed man.

"You're trapped now," said the newcomer. "There's no way you can outrun us even if it take ages. Surrender to us, and we shall have your life spared."

The robed man snorted. "So, you've come as far as Ryukyu Island and chased me all the way to this land of dragon? I'm so impressed," he said, before a grim smile carved upon his face. "But your promises are nothing but a lie, and a warrior like me takes no chance to believe in promises."

"You? Warrior?" The newcomer cried out in dismay and pointed to the robed man. "Fool! You betrayed the holy temple and you killed Master Ransen in the process! You even stole the Ancient Sword of Shadow Serpent and used it to destroy the entire village! What kind of warrior is that when all you do is just genocide?"

The robed man grinned. "So, you were angry at me because of the act of atrocity I had performed. What about you? You're forgetting the fact that you were an outcast in the temple; Master Ransen was good-hearted enough to accept you as his student because he pitied you." The man in monastery clothing was appalled by the answer and demanded him to stop taunting him. He, instead, laughed, and pointed back to the newcomer. "Stop lying to me, Ai-Ris. Who are you to compare with me?"

"Silence! Your arrogance will only lead to your death!" the newcomer screamed. "Magnolia Monks! Attack and kill him! He must not be allowed to live!"

The warrior monks withdrew their weapons and immediately pounced at the robed man. One such monk aimed its metal claws at him but the attack was predictable. The robed man launched a couple of lightning-fast punches that sent the assassins flying through the bamboo forest. Several monks tossed daggers at the man; he easily deflected the projectiles with his dark red robe and counterattacked with energy palm attack that sent them toward the river. He turned around and saw a single fighter jumping at him with Chinese spear aimed at his head. He stepped slightly to the left, avoided the spear attack and landed a killing blow on the monk.

He turned back at the young man named Ai-Ris and withdrew a sword he had hung over his back for quite a while. He pointed the distinctively ancient-looking sword at him, and invited him to accept his challenge. "Come on, Ai-Ris," he taunted. "Let's finish this."

The young man was infuriated. He charged at the robed man and attacked him with multiple kung-fu punches and kicks, all of which were effortlessly evaded or repelled. Ai-Ris backed off and re-attacked the seemingly laid-back opponent while the warrior monks assisted him by sneak attacks on the robed man.

"All of you are no match against me!" The robed man lifted the sword, screamed in a deafeningly loud cry and plunged the sword into the ground. In an instant a strong blast of water ravaged from the impact point and spread throughout the bamboo forest. Most of the attackers were either knocked out or killed by crescent-shaped water blades created from the blast. Ai-Ris was forced to brace himself for the shockwave and almost got thrown off his feet. Amidst the violent liquid vortex, the young fighter could see the robed man pulling out the sword and pouncing at him.

"Your life ends tonight!" shouted the robed man. The sword glowed in sinister black aura and burst into a dark-coloured liquid blade. He screamed in bloodlust and swung the energy-infested sword at Ai-Ris. "SERPENT'S TEARS SLASH!"

The young fighter reacted. He dropped his defence, positioned his arms in a snatching position and readied himself for the inevitable. There would be no escape as the liquid blade was barely millimetres away from his head.

"NOW!"

In the blink of an eye, he snatched the sword. He held it over his head, already drenching in sweat. He grinned at the robed man, who had a look of utter shock. "Syahbakh, you must never --NEVER-- look down upon Magnolia Monks because this is why they're such a terrible adversary!"

The owner of the strange name was horrified. "You-- bastard!"

The young fighter channelled his inner force into his palms. It grew intense and rumbled with massive energy, until it eventually reached its breaking point. "Secret Art of Chronograph -- TIME HALT!"

Time came to a standstill. The world was brought into a bone-chilling pause. All living beings and non-living matters were struck in suspended animation. All, which included the robed man, whose dark energy was suspended in still frames.

Ai-Ris dropped his hands. He summoned bluish white flame from his palms, stepped backwards and suddenly hurled toward the robed man. At the time he shouted "Chrono--" the flame burst out, its heat leaping into a point where everything would melt simply by exposing it to the heat wave.

"CROSS!"

The sound of clashing metals blasted loudly. Then, nothing as everything turned pitch black, except for the faint, terrifying cries of the underworld. It seemed the universe would stand still for eternity, until a chiming sound echoed faintly in the background. Only then normality was restored, and it revealed what had happened in the split second.

"Curse it…" the robed man growled. "Time Halt… I never see it coming…" Then he fell on his knees and cried out in pain. The finishing blow had directly hit his heart, severely rupturing all nerves that connected it throughout his body. Gasping for air and coughing in blood, he was suffering. "Gah! I can't die right here!"

"Your reign will come to an end, Syahbakh," said Ai-Ris as he approached the agonized robed man. "You cannot deny the fact that you will die tonight." He ignited another bluish white flame and aimed it at the man's head. "Say your last prayer."

"Ai-Ris," Syahbakh called the young man, "I forgot to give you something." He looked up at him, and in a sudden, pierced his dark energy-infested hand into Ai-Ris' chest. Somehow, despite his losing strength, the robed man had managed to gather his last strength and used it for the last attack. The young man screamed in pain as it went through him; blood was fast gushing out of the scar and he was on verge of death. "Didn't Master Ransen tell you not to overlook your opponents even after you've defeated them?" the robed man said, even as the dark energy began to manifest. He twisted his hand, causing Ai-Ris to cry out in more pain, and he was glowering at the young fighter with no mercy.

"Say bye-bye to this world, Ai-Ris."

And it ended.

x-x-x-x-x

The palace was quiet. The emperor had long fast asleep, and so did his wives and mistresses that inhabited the palace. The soldiers were sleeping, too; their duties in and around the kingdom were taking the toll and there could not be better way to replenish all the lost energies by taking a good, relaxing sleep. Only several guards were present to patrol areas within the vicinity of the complex, and even so some of them were tired by their night shifts.

The girl was anxious. It was past midnight, and yet she was not fully asleep. She was standing next to the door, gazing at the full moon; her beauty was revealed as the silver light shone over her, yet it could not hide the angst she was facing. Something was bothering her, but what was it?

"Forget it, Yue. He won't show up tonight." The girl turned around and could only sigh at what she heard. "Go and get enough rest, okay? You've been pushing yourself too much for the last two weeks."

"No; he will show up," the girl insisted. "No matter what, he will show up."

The other girl she was talking with approached her. Slightly older than her, she sat next to her and put her hands upon her shoulders. "Yue, there's no way he will come to this palace. With the guards patrolling around, how can he pass by the security undetected? Besides, your father isn't very pleased with him."

The girl frowned. "Xianghua… just because my father doesn't like him doesn't mean I have to dislike him," she replied. "I have loved him with my heart and soul ever since we met; how can I ever throw all my feelings away?"

"Princess Yue!" The owner of the name looked at the direction of the shout and saw a couple of guards running up the pavement. "There's a message for you. We found it at the main gate."

"A message?" She quickly approached the guards and took the scroll from them. "Who sent it to me?"

"We don't know who, Princess Yue, but we believe you might recognize its writings," the guards informed.

The girl opened the scroll. She could not believe what she saw; all the characters were written in blood and poorly organized. She took courage and began reading it.

"_To my beloved Yue, I'm sorry I cannot come as I have always promised,"_ she read the message. _"By the time you receive this message, I may have been gone. For how long? It's a question I dare not answering. I may live for a very long time, or I may leave this world tomorrow. Who knows what the deities have arranged for me?"_ She paused. Then she continued reading the message. _"It has been a great, sweet and memorable time I have to spend with you. I do not know how I should repay all the deeds you have done for me. For me, every memory I share with you is more precious than anything else I have, including my lowly life. I know it's very hard to say goodbye, but how can a solitary warrior win a place in a beautiful princess' heart? For that, I must move away and discard the love castle both of us have been constructing along these three months we're together."_

"It… it cannot be…!" She immediately handed it to Xianghua and shook her head in dismay. "I… I can't read it…" Xianghua was about to ask when she found an object attached to the scroll. It was a pendant carved in cherry blossom decoration, and attached to it was another message. It read: _"This is only one of the twin pendants I have crafted for us. This is meant for you to keep; no matter what, I will always be with you. Thank you, and again I'm sorry for unable to fulfil the promise. Farewell, Yue, and I love you."_

"NO!" The girl fell onto her knees. She covered her face, shed tears and broke out into a heart-wrenching cry. "I can't live without you, Shen! I can't! Why did you leave me? Why?" The girl continued crying, even as the guards were trying to comfort her. "Shen, you moron!"

Xianghua clenched the dull pendant and threw her sight into the cloudless sky. The moon shone onto the pendant, making it glitter in the dark. "Shen… no, Syahbakh… what had happened to you?"

_**To Be Continued**_


	2. Rhapsody

**Heart of Melting Blood  
The Whistling Gale  
Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note:** _Soul Calibur_, _Guilty Gear_, _Tsubasa Chronicles_, _Gunslinger Girl_ and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiaries everything inside this story without his knowledge. For your information, _The Whistling Gale_, the third instalment of the _Heart of Melting Blood_ saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ ended.

**A reminder:** please take note that some of the scenes are meant for mature audiences, which the author assumes all of us are. Also, the author assumes some of the events in this chapter take place after the end of TWAAW's _Machine Eden Arc_; he might be wrong on this account, though. Maybe the author should've consulted his fellows, but what the heck!

**Chapter 1  
Rhapsody**

Children as murderer? Children to carry out the dirty works? Children trained to become perfect soldiers? Such ideas like these will find no place in today's civilized world, as people may find no connection between a 12-year-old girl and an assassin. A question most likely to be asked is "why would we want our children to indulge in sinful duties? Must they taint their pure hand with bloods? Must they corrupt their very own innocence?" They fail to realize that there are places were children are the only suitable candidates to carry out these tasks. In the darkest portion of society, where a secret as not a secret until it is given the strictest protection, there is a requirement for a child to accomplish a task so unthinkable even an adult will avoid talking over it.

_Henrietta._

_Chise._

_Rei._

_Chloe._

These are only a few names picked from list of hundreds, perhaps thousands, names of the so-called _chosen ones._ List that will always be kept secret, no matter how many times we try to unlock it. It's like the Holy Grail; only this Holy Grail is so enigmatic it may never exist in the first place.

We may think that the idea of using children to fulfil an adult's job is as recent as our modern society, but the truth may be older --and more perplexing-- than we expect. As old as the earliest civilization known to man.

"_We kill them because we are ordered to."_

"_If something stands in our way, our objective requires us to have the obstacle exterminated at all costs."_

"_Even if I'm told of this and that, I'm still happy to have this kind of body inside of me."_

"_We are taught not to believe in grown-up. We are who we rely on."_

One can only imagine the thought of a child when he or she is questioned regarding their role in the unholy task. And most often the answer leaves us baffled, and the more we try to rationalize ourselves the more we are confused.

_Black ops._

_Weapons of mass destruction._

_First Child._

_True Noir._

How can this be possible? Why are children chosen to do works we may have to think twice before doing it? Why do they suppress their sorrow every time their hand is soaked in blood? What do they think of the world surrounding them? Can we really understand them?

And most important of all, are we even ready to accept them as what they _really_ are?

x-x-x-x-x

"Henrietta."

The girl who owned the name woke up. She opened her eyelids and found herself lying on the grasses. She looked up and saw several pairs of eyes staring at her. "Everyone… what's the matter?"

"You fell asleep again, I think." The girl, Henrietta, turned to her left and saw a girl sitting next to her. "_Konnichiwa_, Henrietta. How was your sleep?"

Lazily she rubbed her eyes. "Chise…" Then she smiled. "_Konnichiwa_, Chise."

The girl --Chise, one of the few remaining living ultimate weapons known to human-- smiled in return. "You shouldn't oversleep, you know. You've missed most of our conversations."

Henrietta sat up. She stared at the Japanese girl, and turned her attention to her two Italian friends. "Angie… Rico… are you waiting for me, too?" The girls --Angelica and Rico-- just nodded and smiled to her.

"AIII!" Almost in an instant something perched upon Henrietta's head and danced on her scalp. "Wake up! Wake up! There's no time for afternoon nap! Wake up! Wake up! Don't we all try to snap! AIII!" animatedly Sumomo announced.

Henrietta picked the petite robot and put it on her palm. "_Konnichiwa_, Sumomo-_san_."

The pink mini Persocon cheered and danced excitedly. "_Konnichiwa_, Henrietta! Today is the greatest day all of us are going to experience! AIII! Get ready to rock!"

Henrietta giggled. "You're always cheerful, right Sumomo-_san_?"

"AIII! I am what I am programmed to!" Sumomo cried aloud.

Henrietta gazed into the afternoon sky. The artificially created environment courtesy of Planetarian Park's state-of-the-art technology made no difference to the girls. For them, a picnic in a park is a picnic, and they must enjoy the precious time as much as they could. The blowing wind added a little bit of realism to the scenery, although this, too, made no sense to them regardless of whether it was genuine or not.

Just when they thought they could enjoy the scenery, Sumomo's cries brought them back to reality. "And today, I'm going to tell the story of Robo-Ky's most hated adversary! AIII!" So saying, Sumomo took out whistle and pom-pom, and began dancing on the grasses. The four girls waited in anticipation, as the humanoid-shaped mobile PC continued dancing and jumping around.

Sumomo stopped dancing. "AIII! Today's topic is Hikki Kokurabuji! AIII! He is said by many as the best cosplayer and cross-dresser in the world! His technique is so real even Robo-Ky fell into his trap! Be very careful with him, because he will destroy your wildest fantasy and put you to shame for the rest of your life! AIII!"

Silent. The girls stared at Sumomo for a very long time. Then Henrietta asked, "Hikki? Who is he?"

Sumomo fell on her back. "What? You don't know who he is?" she interjected.

Henrietta shook her head. "I never meet another man in my life, Sumomo-_san_." Then bashfully she frowned, as she tried to hide her blushing cheeks. "Well, except for Jose-_san_, because… you see…"

(Giuseppe sneezed. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded. This is the "Jose-_san_" Henrietta is talking of, not the _other_ Giuseppe.)

Inexplicably, Chise, too, blushed. "Shuu-_chan_…"

(Shuuji choked the orange juice he was drinking. "I thought somebody just said my name behind me," he retorted.)

Sumomo grumbled and sat up, rubbing a bump on her head. "This can't be happening. I thought the whole world knows about him. _Mou_…!" Then she shrugged and jumped back onto her feet. "Whatever it is, you ought to pay him a visit! He may look mischievous, but he's a good guy at heart! AIII!" She looked at Henrietta and Chise; a medium-sized sweat popped on her head when she realized what became of the two girls. "Did something happen?"

Rico laughed silly and shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows?"

Reverie arrived at the place. "Good afternoon, everyone," the humanoid-shaped stewardess greeted. "What commotion all of you are having? Can I join in?"

"AIII! Reverie-_chan_, _konnichiwa_!" Sumomo greeted.

"Hello, Miss Reverie," Angelica said.

Rico just sported a smile to the cute attendant. "We're just talking over stuffs and such, Reverie," she told her.

"That sounds interesting." Reverie corrected her attire and took a seat between Henrietta and Chise. Her emerald eyes glowing radiantly, she looked back and forth between the two girls. "Good afternoon, Miss Henrietta, Miss Chise. How are you doing?"

Henrietta shook her head, discarding off her fantasy on her 'significant one'. "Reverie-_san_, _konnichiwa_," she said with a smile.

Reverie smiled. "You looked happy, Miss Henrietta. May I know what happened?" politely she asked.

Henrietta blushed. "_Iie_. Nothing much," childishly she told the planetarium worker.

Reverie turned her attention to Chise. "You seem to be in trouble. Is there something I can do to help, Miss Chise?"

Chise, too, shook her head in denial. "No. I'm alright, Reverie-_chan_," the weapon girl said. "_Ne_, Sumomo-_chan_, can you tell us how Hikki looks like? Who he really is, where he's living, what he does for a living…"

"I thought you wouldn't ask!" Sumomo excitedly danced and pressed a button on her head. Almost in an instant an on-board hologram projector was activated, and from its lens came various images of the said boy. The extensive modifications she performed since arrival at Machine Eden allowed her to display graphic and video files on request; in other words, she was effectively a walking LCD projector. The girls cooed at the projected images and started praising Sumomo. The Persocon proudly folded her arms and made a self-righteous stand. "Ain't I so glad to be myself?"

Reverie was neither impressed nor uninterested; for her, things like this had become a part of her daily routine since she became a planetarium tour guide. Even now, she still wholeheartedly performed the duty, and with her companion Miss Jena fully upgraded, her job became more exciting than before.

"So what do you think of him, everyone?" Sumomo said as she ended the holographic presentation.

"He's quite cute, isn't he?" Reverie asked. The rest of the girls nodded to agree with her statement. Then Reverie sported a broad smile and clasped her hands together. "I know. What if we pay Mister Hikki a visit? I know he might be surprised to see us, but I'm very sure he'll be grateful to accept our visit," she suggested.

"That's great, Reverie-_chan_," Chise uttered. "I wish I could bright Shuuji along, but he looks pretty busy these days."

"So does Robo Ky-_san_," Henrietta murmured. "Since that day, he hasn't spoken much to either of us. I wonder what bothers him lately."

"Don't worry about it, everybody!" Sumomo declared. "I will take care of Robo-Ky, because I am the only one for Robo-Ky! AIIII!" The girls and the stewardess laughed at the energetic mini Persocon, even as she started dancing around them.

What do they fail to realize is that not all books can be judged by their covers. Especially when the said book contains a dark, twisted chapter. A chapter that is not supposed to be revealed to the open world.

x-x-x-x-x

"_The priory needs you, my child. You are their only hope to continue the legacy of the dynasty. You must rediscover who you really are, my child, because you are the dynasty's only living descendant."_

_  
"What the hell are you talking of! My name is Hikki Kokurabuji! I have nothing to declare!"_

"_But you do. Do you remember your brother? He was supposed to carry on the dynasty's legacy, before he took his own path and abandoned the dynasty. He died of his own foolishness."_

"_He died protecting me!"_

"_But that was because you were forced to fight against your sister. She, too, was destined to lead the dynasty, before that deranged Lord Falken took her away from us. They were responsible for turning her into something against the dynasty's desire."_

"_Don't dare talking about my sister!"_

"_I should've let you know, my child, that between you, Zofeah and Mriya you share no blood relationship between each other. You may call yourselves siblings, but the truth is--"_

"_All of you can go to hell and die! REPPUKEN!"_

"Hikki?"

He was startled. He looked to his left and saw his wife warily staring at him. "What? Mai, did something happen?"

Mai frowned at him. "What happened? You look so unlike yourself for the past 2 hours. I should've been asking the question, _mou_."

Hikki said nothing. He threw his sight outside the window, and gazed at the scenery of the Ukrainian countryside. "I just don't like going back to my origin," he uttered.

"You mean Kiev… right?" she half-guessed.

Hikki lazily nodded. The place brought upon him many unpleasant and sad memories. He thought he could build a new life away from Kiev --away from the nostalgically painful memory of his bloodline as Chrono Falken. Away from his reunion with his long-lost brother Zofeah. Away from his encounter with Dragon of Time Nagalintar.

Away from his dearest sister.

Although, the laws of _The World Within and Without_ and _Heart of Melting Blood_ strictly prohibited him from abandoning Mriya. With that said, you're officially suffering from Acute Sister Complex Syndrome, Hikki!

"_Lone Wolf NEO… Sheo Darren… how I hate both of you so much…!"_

He turned to her. Somehow, the sight of his wife relieved him; he wondered whether she had a hidden charm that made her an attractive Wanderer. "I just can't believe you still look as beautiful as you always are," he said and pointed to her body, "even when you're carrying this around."

Mai blushed. Shyly she stared at the swollen figure of her abdomen, and giggled when Hikki placed an ear upon it. "Silly Hikki," she spoke and patted his head. "You'll have to wait for another 4 months. Why are you so impatient on raising a child?"

Hikki raised his head. A wicked smile carved upon his face, as he unhurriedly claimed Mai's moist lips. "Because I can't wait to become a father," he uttered over her mouth. Mai giggled like a little girl and put her arms around Hikki's neck. They kissed. Unhindered by the fact that the ticket conductor was looking at them from behind the window; the mid-50's man grinned and left them in privacy, heading to the other cabin.

They broke off the kiss. They stared at each other for a long time before one of them chuckled. "Delicious," Hikki remarked. "I wish I could taste it every day."

"Make me."

Hikki pressed his lips against hers. Again. Mai did nothing to resist the hard kiss and eagerly accepted it. Sinuously her arms wrapped around his body, as she pulled him closer toward her. Soon they became lost in their own world, and the essence of their love-making sweetened as their kiss deepened.

x-x-x-x-x

_When you try your best but you don't succeed,  
When you get what you want but not you need…  
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep,  
Stuck in reverse…_

He opened his eyes. Here he was, standing on the junction and watching at the busy streets of Kiev. Snows were falling down in flakes, and people were walking in the snows, talking and indulging with each other's affair. He was curious; how could these people still have fun even when the outside temperature dropped under freezing level?

He stepped on. He felt tired; he had been walking across the land for months without a clear destination. He felt weak; he had been eating nothing but carrions and snow for the past weeks. He felt empty; he had not been sleeping for as long as he could remember.

Led by his footsteps, he walked across the road and headed to the downtown. He took no attention of children who were flocking around him, begging for a quarter or two from him as donation before leaving him to bug another bystander. He cared less of the people who all looked at him in strange gaze; he could have cared less of whether they were looking at him in prejudice or sympathy. He could have cared less of the fact that snow was packing up on his robe-covered shoulders.

He halted. He found himself standing in front of a mansion. He was perplexed; he could have sworn that he should've taken at least an hour to leave the city centre. He looked around the vicinity in doubt, trying to guess where he was now.

Well, that's the least worried thing he could think of when he sensed someone approaching him from the behind.

He turned around. His hand was inserted into his robe, reaching for something concealed beneath it. He was all too aware of the newcomer's intention, and was ready to engage.

"Sir?"

He realized he was dealing with a wrong person. He realized he was one step from committing murder. On top of that, the person he was going to intimidate was surprised to see his poor appearance.

_And the tears come streaming down your face,  
When you lose something you can't replace…  
When you love someone but it goes to waste,  
Could it be worse…?_

"Are you looking for somewhere to stay for a night?" the person asked, even as she was holding a bagful of vegetables and breads in her arms. He stared at the person strangely due to the question- _how can I understand the foreign language she's talking?_ - and glowered at her.

The woman was not frightened. Putting the groceries beside the fences, she walked toward him; unaware of his next step should she get too close. "You look pale, sir. Are you alright?" she asked.

_What do you want from me, woman?_ "I--"

Inexplicably he lost conscious and lost balance. Without realizing what was happening, he fell toward the pavement, only to be caught by a pair of frantic arms that tried to hold him tight.

_This smell… why does it so familiar…? Wait; could it be…_

He looked up from beneath the arms. The beautiful golden-brown eyes were staring down at him in worry, as he heard her calling out his name in distress. She reminded him of someone. Someone he had missed so dearly. Yet he could not believe his very eyes.

"Yue…?"

_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you…_

He fainted.


	3. Autumn Wind

**Heart of Melting Blood  
The Whistling Gale  
Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note:** _Soul Calibur_, _Guilty Gear_, _Tsubasa Chronicles_, _Gunslinger Girl_ and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiaries everything inside this story without his knowledge. For your information, _The Whistling Gale_, the third instalment of the _Heart of Melting Blood_ saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ ended.

**Please see**: this story also takes place several months after all events in _The World Within and Without's_ Machine Arc ended.

**Chapter 2  
Autumn Wind**

"_You're cursed to walk this land as an immortal, Syah Bakh! You're doomed to wander this earth forever! Neither heaven nor hell will accept you body, because you are destined to lead an eternal life!"_

x-x-x-x-x

He woke up. Shaking his head in dismay, he cursed the dream for disturbing his already tormented sleep. Having lost the mood, he just lied down on the bed and gazed at the empty ceiling. He was thinking of wasting time while spending the rest of the night.

He touched his chest. He was surprised at the feel of bandages wrapping and covering his body, as well as his head. "What happened…? Who did this to me?"

He remembered. _Where is she, the woman whom I met a while ago?_ Looking around and seeing nobody, he could only wonder where she had gone go.

"Excuse me. I'm coming in."

He looked at the door. It was her, and she was struggling to carefully open the door while at the same time carrying a tray of breakfast into the room. He wished he could help, but with his condition how could he?

"Good morning, sir," she greeted and put the meal on the bedside table. "I was worried that you couldn't sleep well, but you look alright today. How are you doing?"

He said nothing. The beauty and generosity of the woman was awe-inspiring. Yet he was intrigued; why would she bother helping him, a stranger she never met or knew before? Then as she started her chatters, all he did was just listen to her and become an audience. Somehow, it was kin of fun to hear her easy-going speeches.

"Oh, my. We forgot to introduce each other." Bowing apologetically to him, the woman took a seat next to him. "My name is Mriya Falken," she introduced and put a palm on her chest. "I live here in Kiev, and this is my mansion. What's your name?"

He was silent. Staring at her face for a while, he took a deep breath and said: "Shen. My name is Shen."

Mriya smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Shen."

Shen nodded in return. "It is an honour, Miss Mriya." He looked around and noticed something amiss. "By the way, Miss Mriya. Where are my belongings? I'm quite worried that they might--"

"Don't worry, Mr. Shen," Mriya told him. "I keep them inside the closet. Although your clothes… I already washed them just now."

"Ah, alright them." Shen took another deep breath before he asked her. "Pardon me for being curious, but why are you helping strangers? At where I belong, we never trust strangers no matter how nice they are because we fear they will bring ill luck to us."

"He taught me." The answer brought him to another level of curiosity. _Who might that person be?_ "He told me to treat people with respect and equality and how I should never judge anyone by their look." Shen stared at her strangely due to the explanation and, shyly Mriya fiddled with her fingers. "It's my boyfriend."

* * *

Lone Wolf NEO sneezed.

"Are you okay?" Terry asked.

He glared at the lone wolf of Fatal Fury. "Uhh… Buster Wolf?" This was promptly responded by Terry's Power Geyser that was surprisingly evadable, all while Terry screamed in anger: "I'm getting sick of that kind of joke! RAH!"

Madlax giggled. "I believe someone is talking about Mr. Lone Wolf right now."

* * *

"Well, we used to be together as a couple before we broke up. Still that doesn't stop me from keeping in touch with him," Mriya said and laughed.

_I never thought to see someone laughing as heartily as Miss Mriya. She looks kind of childish to me, but I guess that's just her personality. And her smile… why she reminds me of Yue? Does she have anything to do with her? I… I'm so confused._

"Are you a Chinese, Mr. Shen?" The question brought him to reality. Shen stared at her, and asked why. "Well, I saw Chinese characters stitched on your clothes. Oh, are you perhaps coming to Kiev to teach kung fu? That's great; I've always wanted to learn kung fu fighting."

Shen said nothing. It appeared that what Mriya said was offending him. Mriya saw his grim expression and immediately realized why. "I didn't mean to offend you, Mr. Shen! Please forgive me."

"No! That's fine with me," Shen quickly replied. _The problem is how on earth can I understand her language? And what's with that apologetic bow? Stop doing it! It'll only make you… cuter._

Mriya turned her head to the left. "Oh, my. I forgot to clean the house. Mr. Shen, please excuse me." So saying, she stood back and headed to the door, but turned back to Shen just before she left the room. "Mr. Shen, if you need something, I'll be at the kitchen. Is it alright if I leave you for a while?"

Shen nodded. Mriya bowed in return and left him alone. Confused at first, he discarded the trouble off his head and took the breakfast. "Mushroom soup…" he pondered. "She knew I like mushroom soup…"

x-x-x-x-x

He stepped out of the bathroom. Shen took a quick shower to relieve his tired body. The sight of him in nothing but tower covering him down his waist surely an eye candy and sex appeal to the opposite gender. The way water dropped off his spiked hair and flow down his bare chest was enough to make girls squeal in excitement and faint. In effect, Shen was a Prince Charming in its own right.

(Fan girls gushed at the fan service and started squealing at Shen. Fan boys fired a Stonehenge shell onto fan girls. Fan girls spawned and counterattacked with SOLG's rail gun attack. A Belkan B-52 bomber appeared from nowhere and drops an A-bomb onto them before it was shot down by Scinfaxi's burst missile.

Larry "Pixy" Foulke shrugged. "I wish I could run away from this stupidity, buddy," he whispered.)

Shen did not care. All he wanted to do was to get dressed up, took back his possessions, and left the mansion. He owed Mriya for her deed, but he was not in the mood to think of the Good Samaritan.

Or was he?

He heard a strange-sounding song coming from the backyard while walking down the staircases. Curiosity took over, so he headed to the back of the mansion and saw the person who sang the song.

It was her, indeed.

Singing a Ukrainian folk song, Mriya raked autumn leaves scattered around the backyard and collected them into a mound. He was awed; the sight of the woman struggling to sweep the dry leaves across the area was as astounding as her appearance. She was neither too tall nor too short. She had a good-looking body figure and admiring eyes that would captivate those who stare into them. Her satin black hair, elongated to the point it reached the tip of her ankle, swayed in rhythm as she moved her body to the left and the right. The natural beauty of her heart-shaped face, altogether with the radiant lips that were carving a smile, were as beautiful as the woman herself.

Truly, she was a sight to behold.

Somehow Mriya realized she was watched. She turned to Shen and smiled. "Hello, Mr. Shen. You look refreshed. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Shen shook his head. "No, nothing. Thanks for the mushroom soup you made. I really enjoyed it."

Mriya laughed. "That was great. I was worried whether I was bad at cooking."

Shen smiled. "Don't mind it; I haven't eaten anything for the last three weeks. Anything will go inside my-" He halted. He gestured to the autumn leaves Mriya was raking. "You're doing it alone? If that's the case, let me help."

"Oh, no! Please, Mr. Shen, don't rush yourself," Mriya said. "You're my guest. You don't have to bother yourself helping me."

"No, I insist to." To emphasize it, Shen took a rake from the wall and approached Mriya. The causal-Mriya pleaded him to take enough rest and leave the work to her, but instead she received a reminding gesture from Shen. "I have nowhere to go after this," he told her and started raking the remaining leaves, "even when I could continue my journey. Besides, I should consider the feeling of the person who has cooked mushroom soup for me."

"Do… do you think so?" Shyly Mriya frowned and clenched the apron she was donning. "I helped you because I was worried to see you standing in front of me like… you had been ousted from your place. So…"

_Yue used to say that when we first met. She did exactly the same Miss Mriya had done to me. Wait a minute; why she keeps reminding me of Yue? Could I have been…?_

"Mr. Shen, do you have a family in China?" Again, the question brought him from his inner thought and back to the real world. "They might be worried if they knew what happened to you here."

"I live alone," Shen replied. "Well, I used to have sparring partners, but that was a long time ago." Mriya stared at him, puzzled by the answer, and Shen realized he had said something he was not supposed to. Shaking his head in dismay, Shen scratched the back of his head and sighed: "I… I guess I shouldn't make the housekeeper confused. I…"

Mriya laughed. "You're so like him, Mr. Shen," she said between her laughs. "When… when we first met, my ex-boyfriend said and did the same thing like you did just now. You're so funny."

Again, Shen was touched. This time, it was her innocent charm that fascinated him. Not only that, the close distance between them allowed Shen to admire the untouched beauty of her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh too much," Mriya said as her laughs faded.

"It's fine with me." Shen later threw his sight to the morning sky and sighed in wonder. "Autumn, my favourite season. Nothing can beat the magnificent sight of brownish-red leaves falling down to the cold soil."

Mriya nodded. "Yes, it really is."

x-x-x-x-x

Alone in the backyard, Shen sat still under the maple tree in meditation position. It was early in the evening, and Mriya was out for an errand at Kiev. Shen cared less of what business she was having, as long as he had the privacy he needed so much. He stayed perfectly immobile. The breezing gust of autumn wind had no effect on him. Not even the falling leaves could distract him. He did nothing, keeping himself as static as he could.

His eyes stormed wide.

As fast as snakebite, Shen struck a falling leaf with his fingers. He discarded the leaf and struck another leaf with deadly accuracy, before tossing it off his hand. Shen spontaneously leapt from his current position and executed super-fast punches on leaves falling around him. He landed on the ground and performed a series of acrobatic moves, each combining the beauty and gracefulness of a butterfly with the lethal swiftness of a wasp.

"SYAA!"

Shen jumped over a crate, somersaulted and snatched a broomstick rested against it. He landed on his feet, and instantly executed dangerous stick-based martial art moves. Effortlessly, not hindered by the oversized clothes he borrowed from Mriya, Shen spun the 7-foot-long pole so fast it made a vicious vortex that sent all dry leaves flying off the ground. He continued with a multiple forward thrusts followed by a spinning 360-degree defensive move.

"HAH!"

It ended with a standing pose. Shen stood firmly on the ground, the broomstick held closely to his right ribcage. He stayed in the pose for a long time, not moving slightly or changing facial expression.

_Ding, dong._

"Oh, she's back." Shen looked around him and scratched his head at the sight of the mess. "What did I do? Oh, well. I can fix this later." He went into the mansion and headed to the front door. He peeked through the peephole and saw two people standing in front of the door. "It's not her. Who are these people?"

"Hello! _Oneesan_, are you there?" one of the people -a boy roughly at the age of 18- shouted. Shen saw the person getting restless while the woman standing next to him tried comforting him. Should he open the door and let them come in? Or should he first wait for Mriya and disgrace the visitors?

Shen was about to open the door when he heard a squeal of excitement that was followed by a cry of dismay. He peeked through the peephole and saw the boy tackle-hugged by Mriya, crying foul at the woman. "What the-" He opened the door and the two people fell onto the floor, Mriya on top of the other.

"Let go off me, _oneesan_!" the boy shouted.

"No! I will not let you go until I say so!" Mriya replied and choked him with a tight hug around his stiffened neck. "You bad boy! Why didn't you tell me you're coming?"

Shen left the two people with their stuffs and turned his attention to the awaiting woman. He noticed the luggage she was carrying and gestured at it. "May I carry it?"

"Ah, yes. Please," the woman said and handed over the luggage. "Thank you for helping me, Mister-"

"Shen." He carried the luggage upstairs when Mriya called him. He turned around and saw her looking at him in concern, not taking care of the annoyed boy, already screaming in rage at her in the background. "Yes, Miss Mriya?"

"I forgot to introduce these people to you, Mr. Shen. Please, wait for a moment." She, then, turned to the angered boy, repeatedly bowed to him and looked back at Shen. "Mr. Shen, this is my younger brother Chrono and this woman is his wife Mai."

Mai bowed respectfully to Shen. "Kawasumi Mai _desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." My name is Kawasumi Mai. Pleased to meet you._

Shen made a hand gesture and slightly bowed to her. "It's my honour to meet you, Mrs. Mai." Then, he turned to the boy and bowed to him. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Chrono."

"It's Hikki," the boy replied. "I find the usage of my family name is a disgrace."

"Oh, then I should call you Mr. Hikki instead," Shen said.

Hikki said nothing, as Shen noticed. He left the desperate-looking Mriya and headed upstairs. When he walked past him, Shen glared at Hikki; a gesture in which Hikki replied with a cold, similar-looking glare. It was as if Shen was proposing a challenge Hikki could not take for granted.

"Oh, yes." Shen looked back at Mriya. "Where should I lead Mrs. Mai to?"

"Mr. Shen, you don't have to do this," reluctantly Mriya replied. "You're just a guest in this house, so…" She pointed to Mai and was shocked at the young woman's swollen figure. "M-Mai-_chan_? What is this?"

Mai blushed. She said nothing, although her hands did rest upon her belly. Shen laughed at the reaction and told Mriya: "isn't it obvious? Mr. and Mrs. Hikki are both married, so this is what they've got."

Mriya was appalled. "You mean… you and Chrono hand…" Mai silently nodded to answer 'yes'. Mriya screamed in dismayed shock and rushed upstairs, leaving Mai and Shen as she headed to Hikki's room. She was later heard shouting "Chrono! What have you done to Mai-_chan_?! You really are a bad boy!" and Shen laughed in wonder at the siblings.

"Well, I guess it's going to be one hell of a dinner tonight."

x-x-x-x-x

Night fell. The dinner attended by Shen and the family was a hellish one. It was one hell of an occasion; Shen could not enjoy the delicacies made by Mriya without constantly listening to the argument between Mriya and her younger brother, whom he thought had an impending issue against the woman. Mai, the lovely woman who was carrying an important burden (Shen was careful enough not to embarrass her with such a term, for he knew her watchful husband was keeping an eye over him) on her shoulders, was not saying anything much apart from her love experience with Hikki. Shen was surprised by the openness of the woman; in his culture, marriage was considered a very personal matter and very few would dare discussing it with anybody else, even if it happened to be member of their own family. Hikki, the boy who frequently became Mriya's living teddy bear, was trying his best to avoid his sister's dangerously possessive embrace and Shen could see why: almost every 12 seconds or so, the boy would find his face buried against the woman's voluptuous bosom and choking for air even as she dreamily cradled him in her arms. He could not understand the behaviour of the siblings, and he did not want to have anything with it.

* * *

Lone Wolf NEO coughed. "You know, I'm not getting to approve of Hikki/Mriya sibling relationship if this condition persists," he uttered. "Although I kind of approve of their current affair, but incest? Twincest? I wish Lord Izumi would die many times in Hell right away."

_At Hell, Lord Izumi sneezed. "As if falling from Heaven is not enough, now someone's talking fool behind my back?!" he screamed._

Hibiki, Illiya, Saber, Sion and Lia stared at him strangely due to the explanation. Lone Wolf NEO replied with a badgered look of "what"?

"Look who's talking," cutely Hibiki mumbled.

* * *

Nevertheless, Shen was thankful. The dinner was the best he had after a long time, and he had spent so many precious times with the family. He would not consider leaving the mansion for some more times, at least until he had enjoyed what he had longed to.

Shen was sitting on the windows, enjoying the autumn night in solitude. Everybody else in the mansion was already full asleep, and he was the only one awake to admire the beauty of the full moon.

He grumbled. The Magnolia Warrior Monks may have been gone a long time ago, but their dark legacy was still believed to exist somewhere. He knew if he couldn't find it in time, the whole world would plunge into a state of eternal standstill. He knew the forbidden time-manipulating Chrono magic would put an end to all forms of existence should it fall to the wrong hands. As the swordsman entrusted by the Dynasty, Shen had the sole responsibility to prevent the abusive usage of Chrono magic and return it to its respectful owner.

"_Syah Bakh, the Dynasty has chosen you out of 1000 swordsmen and warriors to carry out this task. Remember that whatever happens, you must face with a strong heart and undeterred courage."_

"_Even if… I have to pay with my own life?"_

"_You are the only one with the strength to overcome the ferocity of Chrono magic. You are the only one capable of finding the true inheritor of Chrono magic. You, Syah Bakh of Tiger Valley, are the only person in the entire world with the power to balance the effect of Chrono magic. However…"_

Shen frowned. The vow he swore in front of the Dynasty was offered without its price: he must never fall in love with any woman he met in his life as a lone swordsman. It was a bitter fact to swallow, but he knew for the sake of the Dynasty, he must be ready to forsake everything he possessed.

He took out something. It was a pendant decorated with elaborate engraved motives of cherry blossom along its side. He stared at it deeply, long enough to examine several Chinese characters carved upon it. He shook his head and threw his sight to the night sky.

The autumn wind breezed. He closed his eyes; it was cold and melancholy. He wondered whether there was any concealed message to be conveyed by Mother's Nature.


	4. Ship of Fools

**Heart of Melting Blood  
The Whistling Gale  
Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note:** _Soul Calibur_, _Guilty Gear_, _Tsubasa Chronicles_, _Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo_ and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.

**Please see**: for your information, _The Whistling Gale_, the third instalment of the _Heart of Melting Blood_ saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ and _The World Within and Without's_ Machine Arc ended.

**Chapter 3  
Ship of Fools**

**DATE**: UNKNOWN  
**TIME**: 22:00 HOURS  
**AREA**: BLACK SEA

The amphibious assault carrier cruised silently some 300 nautical miles off the southern coast of Ukraine. It monitored suspicious activities coming from the country's southern defence network, constantly staying out of radar contact. Once in a while, it steered 180-degrees and sailed at the opposite direction of its initial route before it made another 180-degree turn. In effect, the warship was taking a figure-8 route pattern.

It slowed down. One of the ship's ramps elevated upward to the flight deck, carrying a black-painted MV-22A Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft on it. The aerial vehicle was pulled by several ground personnel to the middle of the deck, where it started its engines and began warming up. A group of soldiers was carried to the flight deck by another ramp and immediately aligned in a row. Fully geared up and armed, the soldiers seemed to be involved in a covert operation of sort.

A woman later walked out of the main structure. Donning black robe and carrying a 4-foot-long staff, she promptly signalled to the soldiers to climb onto the tilt-rotor aircraft, while she approached to an MH-53J stationed nearby. The helicopter lifted off and headed north, while the Osprey filled with the soldiers followed its lead and flew close to sea surface.

The amphibious ship resumed its sail and headed south, while the two rotary-wing vehicles headed north. Then, slowly, both transports disappeared in the dark night of the Black Sea, leaving no visible trace to hunt.

x-x-x-x-x

"_The priory needs you, my child. You are their only hope to continue the legacy of the dynasty. You must rediscover who you really are, my child, because you are the dynasty's only living descendant."_

"_I've had it enough! Don't ever come and disturb my life again, you!"_

"_Unfortunately, we will keep on coming, and we will keep haunting your life until you accept the revelation."_

"_What revelation are you trying to tell me?"_

"_We doubt it if you're willing to accept the truth-"_

"_I don't care! Just tell me!"_

"_Very well. Chrono, you and your sister Mriya hold the key that may protect or terrorize the world and its course of history. You must be well aware of it already, since the N.E.S.T.S once had hunted you for it."_

"_The N.E.S.T.S. is back? But I thought they were destroyed in an air raid against their base!"_

"_No, my child. This time, the threat is more sinister than the N.E.S.T.S or the Post-War Bureau. The threat has existed even before your mother gave birth to you and Zofeah. Chrono, starting from now, you must prepare yourself for the inevitable."_

"_The inevitable what?"_

He woke up. The same kind of dream Hikki had while onboard the express train returned to haunt him. This time, it was more agonizing and suppressing, as well as perplexing. He was revealed to what looked like the forgotten portion of his historical background, which he thought he had forgotten for a very long time.

The sudden movement he made on the bed while waking up caused Mai to wake up, and sleepily she snuggled up to him. "What's wrong, Hikki?"

He shook his head. "I don't know," he growled. "I had this dream that…" He trembled in fear at the thought of the encounter with the so-called representative of the Dynasty. "I was told I had something the Dynasty needs, but…"

Mai lazily wrapped her arms about him. "Oh, please stop complaining. It's still early in the night," she sighed and rested her head upon his shoulder. "Let's talk about it at the first dawn, okay?"

Hikki turned to her and found her soundly sleeping. "Already? I didn't know you're quite a sleeper." Chuckling to himself, he leaned forward and seized her moist lips. Unconsciously she responded to the kiss, and it deepened as their harmoniously embraced each other, lips and mouth hungrily feeding.

x-x-x-x-x

"And this is Kiev Market. This is the place where people are engaged in social activities after working for days in a week. Be it bargaining or simply social gathering, this place is so important the City Hall has recently turned down developers' bid to turn it into a shopping mall. As you can see over there…"

Today, she brought Shen for a tour around the city and excitedly played the role of tourist guide for the group of three (Shen, Hikki and Mai). Shen gladly accepted Mriya's invitation and thought it might be the best opportunity to experience the people and their culture that made the city a 'living being'. As usual, the tour would be interrupted by Mriya's constant playful pestering on Hikki, in which the boy grew tired of complaining and let himself be treated like a teddy bear.

"I can see that this city is being rebuilt," Shen uttered when they walked past a plaza where building remains scattered around it, "may I know of what happened to Kiev in the past?"

Mriya stopped rubbing her cheek against Hikki's. Her cheerful face disappeared, and a solemn expression emerged as she stared down to the ground. "It's a very long story, Mister Shen…" she uttered. "Here lied countless bodies of those fell victims to war."

"War?"

"Yes. Our city was under attack by PWAB soldiers, and since then we have worked very hard to restore our beloved city to how it should be," Mriya spoke. "But it's something in the past. Even with these ruins and landmarks around, people still continue their life as if there's nothing to worry."

She heartily giggled. "Anyway, this building used to be Kiev's primary radio station before it was destroyed in the war. All telecommunication-related activities were supervised from here."

"A radio station. That's very cool," Shen cooed. "I wonder how it feels like to sit on the deejay's chair."

"It's very fun, Mister Shen," Mriya told him. "Our radio station is currently holding a talent contest to select a group of new radio broadcasters and personalities until the end of next month. You should apply for it, Mister Shen. Who knows if you're selected?"

"I will think of it," Shen replied.

Hikki warily glanced at Mriya and Shen. He felt uncomfortable by Shen's presence, and was agonizingly annoyed when the two people became very close to each other. He did not understand the reason behind Mriya's insistence to let Shen stay for another couple of day in the mansion, and he did not like it when Shen frequently praised and applauded her, all happening right under his nose. Silently he channelled his Chrono magic into his palm, ready to unleash it toward the Chinese.

"Mister Hikki?"

Hikki turned around. The other three people also turned around. They saw a group of woman walking toward them from down the road. Hikki was intrigued by the strange mixture of the group members: a single stewardess leading five Italian girls and one Japanese girl, attentively looking around the city in full interest, and he could not help wondering.

"Do you know them, Chrono?" Mriya asked.

"I don't know." He was about to approach the group when a small humanoid jumped from the stewardess and hugged his face. The sudden greeting freaked him that he fell on the paved road. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"AIIII! We've found him!" excitedly Sumomo declared and climbed up Hikki's face. She made a victorious pose on his scalp and began dancing. "Everybody, look! This is Hikki Kokurabuji! You said you wanted to meet them up close, don't you? Now come on!"

"Sumomo?" Hikki picked her up and stared at the pink Persocon. "What are you doing here? It's been a long time, you know."

"AIIII! I come here as requested by them!" she told him and pointed to the group. "We're visiting you in Kiev! That's what we're doing right now! AIIII!"

Then Sumomo approached Hikki's left ear. "But I'll be here only for a while. Robo-Ky is waiting for me outside this city," she told him.

Hikki looked at the pink Persocon. "Eh?"

_(Outside Kiev, Robo-Ky nodded. "Well, it has been a while," he told himself and looked afternoon sky. "How peaceful...")_

Helped by Mriya and Shen, Hikki stood up and approached the group, all while Sumomo explained their visit to Kiev in detail. He paid no attention to the Persocon; instead, he stared at each of the girls in intrigue, who in return smiled to him.

"Are you Mister Hikki Kokurabuji?" the stewardess asked.

"Yes, I am," he replied.

The stewardess smiled brightly and bowed to him. "My name is Reverie Planetarian. Pleased to meet you." She, then, gestured to the girls. "These people want to pay you a visit, Mister Hikki. They're very eager to know you better since Sumomo introduced you to us."

Hikki stared at the girls for a very long time. They were strangers to him, for he had no memories of such encounter. "Who are you people?"

"You may have not heard of them, but do you know anything about Section Two and Saikano, Mister Hikki?" Reverie inquired.

"Section Two… Saikano… Gunslinger Girls… Saishuu Heiki…" His mind tried very hard to digest the new knowledge, before he made an acknowledged fist-on-palm gesture. "Ah! I know. All of you are Lone Wolf NEO's new interests! No wonder why Takane-sensei complained over the phone that day."

(back at Lone Wolf NEO's residence, Takane Hibiki sneezed cold. "Uh… I think somebody's talking over my back," she uttered and rubbed her itchy nose.)

"Now let me see…" Hikki pointed to each of the girl, trying to recover a part of his memory. Reverie… Henrietta… Angelica… Claes… Rico… Triela… Chise… that's it! Now I remember. Hi, girls! I'm Hikki; pleased to meet all of you."

"Hello, Hikki," the girls replied in unison, each addressing him with different suffix.

"Correction!" Sumomo exclaimed. "Angie-_chan_ is not with us! She's gone for a holiday." She lied. For a purpose only she knew.

"You should've told me earlier, Sumomo…" Hikki growled, and Sumomo laughed silly at this facial expression. He ignored the Persocon took his turn. "Everybody, I would like to introduce you to my sister Mriya and my wife Mai." The girls stared at him strangely because of the introduction, and Hikki bashfully scratched his head. "Well, yeah, we married, so…"

Sumomo jumped back onto Hikki's head. "That's right! Hikki and Mai are married, and I think they're leading a happy life as husband and wife at this moment! AIIII!" Mai blushed when she heard the declaration, and shyly fiddled with her fingers.

"Well, then, congratulations to both of you, Mr. Hikki," Claes uttered.

"Thanks a lot, err… Claes, isn't it?" Claes nodded to let Hikki know he had correctly identified her.

"Ah…" Mai almost fell onto the road when Mriya snatched her. "My head feels dizzy…"

"Mai-chan, didn't I tell you to stay home?" Mriya asked. Mai didn't say anything; her head was pulsating she felt as if the world was spinning around her. "Perhaps I should cancel this tour and bring Mai-chan home. She looks sick."

"Then let me help you," Reverie offered and approached Mai. "Where should I take her to, Mister Hikki?" she asked while holding the woman's arms.

"There's a café several blocks from this plaza," Hikki said. "Both of you can go there and wait for us." Then he turned to Mai, looking somewhat guilty. He sighed in wonder and smiled to her. "Well, it can't be helped, can it?"

_"Gomennasai…"_ she apologized.

Hikki chuckled. "Go and take some rest, okay?" Mai could only nod and helplessly clung onto Reverie. "Well, Miss… Reverie, please look after her."

Reverie nodded. She accompanied Mai as they walked away from the group and headed to the said café. Sumomo waved bye-bye to the planetarium worker and continued cheering up for Hikki. "So, what are we going to do next?" she asked between her jumps.

"I don't know, but since the girls are here why don't we take another tour around Kiev?" Mriya suggested.

"AH! I'm already late!" Sumomo jumped off Hikki's shoulder and landed on the pavement. "Hikki, I wish you good luck! And I'll see you later!"

"Send my regards to Robo-Ky, okay?" Hikki shouted and Sumomo replied with an approval cry of "AIIII!". He waved goodbye to the Persocon and turned to the people. "Now, let's see…"

Shen suddenly turned to the left. His eyes caught the faint glimpse of a huge figure that leapt across the plaza, heading toward the group. It came closer and closer, until Shen could see it as a whole entity.

"What is it, Mister Shen?" Mriya asked.

Shen squinted at the figure. He was in shock.

**_A giant crawler-type robot._**

Shen leapt forward. His hand reached his back and pulled out a metal object roughly the length of his legs and sliced through the robot. He landed on the ground, held the object that looked like a broad sword and watched at the robot. It was suspended in midair, several metres above the road, and exploded; debris was sent flying across the plaza and smoked mixture of oil and steels were blown everywhere.

"Mister Shen!"

He turned around. A pair of scythe-like claws was swung at him. He jumped out of reach and glowered at the sneak attacker. It was a bio-mechanically altered dinosaur of Raptor species. Armoured plates covering its body and a repeater mounted on its back suggested its role as a living, two-legged assault vehicle.

"This is not Jurassic Park," Triela retorted.

Shen and the rest of the group heard a sinister laugh coming from where the first robot came. They saw a robed woman walking into the plaza, accompanied by several commandoes armed to the teeth. The girls were intimidated and backed off, only to find themselves surrounded by similar commandoes. Shen could not retreat, fearing that the mechanical beast would pounce at him without warning.

"Shen-_kun_, isn't it?" The woman was heard chuckling deviously and signalled the commandoes to aim their weapons at the girls. "If you try to escape, Shen-_kun_, we will make the girls pay."

"Who the hell are you?" Triela demanded.

The woman turned to her. "Oh, hello. I am Sorceress Mizuki, and I am assigned to this place to retrieve a key." She eyed at the frightened Mriya and grinned. "How lucky I am to see her here. Very well."

"What do you want from us?" Hikki shouted, using his body as a shield to protect Mriya and Claes.

The woman laughed at the question. "What do we want from you is out of context, but we're ordered to accomplish this task in record time."

"You didn't answer my question!" Hikki unleashed an intense gale vortex from his palms and charted at Sorceress Mizuki. The robed woman cast a reflective shield and blocked the vortex. The force of impact between the two magic spells created a shockwave that knocked most people off their feet.

"Resilient bitch!" Hikki jumped high into the air and fired a gigantic _Reppuken_. Sorceress Mizuki lifted her magic staff and cast a fire shield that later deflected the _Energia_-sized projectile and sent it back toward Hikki. He was forced to counterattack, and was knocked back when the _Reppuken_ he fired collided with the deflected _Reppuken._

"That was fun," Sorceress Mizuki giggled as she watched Hikki crashing on the ground. She turned around and saw Shen pouncing at her, sword aimed at her neck. "Shen-_kun_, ambushing a woman is bad!" She fired an electric bolt from her magic staff and sent Shen flying across the plaza.

"What do you want from us?!" Triela shouted.

Sorceress Mizuki chuckled. While not looking at Triela, she pointed directly at Mriya. "The monks of Magnolia Valley want her alive, for she has the key needed for recreating this world. My task is to bring her back in one piece."

Hikki was shocked. Magnolia Valley! The birthplace and hometown of his late girlfriend Yuu! But how…?

"Now, my lady," Sorceress Mizuki gestured at Mriya. "Will you come with us? We aren't going to harm you, I promise." Mriya's fear grew more acute and she stepped away from the female magician. "My lady, all I ask from you is--"

"No!" Mriya finally screamed. "I won't go anywhere! I will stay here until my last breath!"

The dinosaur roared in might. It glowered at Mriya, claws fully extended and the double-barrelled repeater aimed at her. Its voice was hoarse and menacing as it growled in animalistic rage. "It seems my pet Mecha-Raptor is angry. Be careful, my lady, because you might not want to spill oil onto its head," Sorceress Mizuki reminded.

"Don't threaten my sister!" Hikki fired a Double _Reppuken_ at Mecha-Raptor. The projectile knocked the cybernetic dinosaur away from the girls, and he took the opportunity from the confusion to charge at Sorceress Mizuki. He somersaulted, snatched the woman's shoulders and performed an Overhead Helix. The female magician was thrown off the road, and crashed on a steel container when Hikki fired a _Reppuken_ onto her.

"Hikki! Behind you!"

He didn't see it coming and was knocked off the air. He crashed onto the road, body smoked and riddled with shrapnel. He still managed to stand up, not noticing the scale of injury he was having, only to find one of the commandoes preparing to fire an RPG at Claes.

"_Shimatta!"_

He jumped in front of Claes at the same time the RPG was fired. He summoned a reflective wind shield and blocked the high-explosive projectile; it detonated on contact, and the force of the explosion was so intense the shield broke and shattered. The shockwave sent more shrapnel flying toward Hikki, and his body was punished by the small yet fatal debris.

"Chrono!" Mriya rushed to help him. "Get a hold of yourself, Chrono! Don't die on me! Chrono!"

"Urgh…" The injury was intensely painful, and Hikki was coughing and vomiting of blood. He tried to nullify the pain and sealed the wound by channelling Chrono magic into his body, yet it was only enough to temporarily hold on. _"Kuso…!"_

It was Mriya's turn to burst in fury. Angrily she glowered at Sorceress Mizuki and clenched her fists. "What have you done to my little brother?" she growled.

Sorceress Mizuki faked a crocodile's tears and pretended to be apologetic. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry I hurt your little brother," she sobbed.

Mriya frowned. There was a shade of shadow covering her eyes, as her anger grew more intense. "You…"

"Too bad! It's your turn!"

Sorceress Mizuki cast a magic spell from her palm and fired a shockwave. It hurled across the pavement, with the noise of a thousand horses trampling the grassland, and knocked everything that stood in the way. Mriya immediately summoned a gale barricade and blocked the shockwave; she was pushed backward as the shockwave tried to break through the blockade. Sorceress Mizuki cast a thunderbolt and fired it at the gale shield, severely reducing its defence rate to near zero. Mriya was undeterred and unleashed more gales from her palms to strengthen the shield.

At this time, both Hikki and Shen saw what looked like a pair of wings sprouting from Mriya's back. It was translucent, barely visible to the naked eyes. They were baffled; never before they saw something as strange as the 'wings'.

"AH!"

The barrier was broken. The shockwave, coupled with the thunderbolt, hit Mriya. It was quick, instantaneous strike, and Mriya did not feel the intensity of the magic attacks as they passed through her body. The 'wings' were detached from her body, lingering in the air for a couple of seconds. Mriya tried to reach for the wings but it was too late; they were broken into many small pieces and disappeared in thin air.

"…_watashi no… tsubasa…" my… wings…_

Mriya collapsed.

"_ONEESAN!"_

x-x-x-x-x

"What is it, Sakura-_hime_?"

Sakura closed her eyes. She opened them back, and slightly stooped her head. "Shaoran-_kun_…" she called him. "I feel something terrible beyond the horizon…"

"What are you talking about?"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't know. But it feels like… it feels like the last time when the feathers were taken away from me…"

x-x-x-x-x

"What do you think you're doing!?" His anger at the sorceress reached the boiling point, and it would take only one more provocation before he, already battered by shrapnel and debris from the rocket blast, exploded.

"What do I think I'm doing?" Sorceress Mizuki retorted. "I do what I do best, that's why!"

Hikki stood up. Anger had overtaken his rationale. Wrath had taken control of his logic judgement. He summoned dark gales from his fists. Murderously he glowered at the sorceress. "You killed her…" he growled and pounced at her. **_"You killed her!"_**

"Hikki, behind you!"

Hikki turned around in response of Claes' alerted shout.

"Watch out!"

It was too late.

A javelin 8 feet in length pierced through his left shoulder blade, and the impact sent him crashing on the concrete wall. Mecha-Raptor fired three more javelins from the repeater that struck Hikki each on his right shoulder and both his left and right shins. He felt no pain from the attacks as he had nullified all nerves with his Chrono magic, but he was losing a lot of blood he began losing consciousness. Mecha-Raptor screamed in fury, as if cursing itself for the missed attack and trampled toward Hikki.

Chise stepped forward. She had deployed the built-in rail gun and was aiming it at Mecha-Raptor. Her eyes burning with the desire to protect, she spoke in low-sounding voice that could be heard even by Sorceress Mizuki.

"_**You hurt my newfound friend… I shall destroy you…"**_

Mecha-Raptor stopped. It glowered at the living super weapon for a long time, and screeched in outrage. Chise squinted at the biomechanical beast, lifted the 35-milimetre Gattling gun and started charging it up.

Sorceress Mizuki had no time to call Mecha-Raptor due to the confusion of battle, so she turned her attention to Shen (he had saved Mriya during the intervention, and was now defensively holding the limp woman). "As for you, Shen-_kun_, I'm surprised that Magnolia Valley wants you dead. You're quite cute, you see. I wish I could choose you as my loving partner," she uttered.

"You say what?" Shen demanded.

"Too bad, Shen-_kun_," Mizuki said aloud and pointed to the swordsman. "I must accomplish this assignment or my lovey-dovey Iris-_sama_ will be angry at me. Tee-hee." Then, excitedly she called back the commandoes and pointed to Shen. "Alright, boys, let's finish this!"

The gunslingers withdrew their arsenals. Sumomo scrambled to hide beneath Henrietta's dress, not wanting to involve in the upcoming chaos. Shen reached for his broad sword, albeit still holding Mriya close to him. The worst was about to happen, and the combatants were more than prepared for the inevitable.

"Ready…!"

The commandoes locked and loaded.

"Aim…!"

Hell was about to break loose…

"FI--"

…when a bunch of flash bangs mysteriously fell in front of the commandoes.

x-x-x-x-x

_Chrono, starting from now, you must prepare yourself for the inevitable."_

"_The inevitable what?"_

"_The inevitable of an ordeal that will fall upon you and your sister. Both of you will lose what used to be yours, and both of you will be forced to lead the path you're taking in the state of desperation."_

"_You mean… both oneesan and I… will be…"_

x-x-x-x-x

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

_**To be Continued**_


	5. Break the Sword of Justice

**Heart of Melting Blood  
The Whistling Gale  
Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note:** Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.

**Please see:** for your information, The Whistling Gale, the third instalment of the Heart of Melting Blood saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ and _The World Within and Without's _Machine Arc ended.

**Chapter 4  
Break the Sword of Justice**

"_All personnel get ready! We're going to hug the earth!"_

_The operatives nodded in response to the pilot's announcement and immediately went into the parked MAMBA, tightly tied onto the Chinook's cargo bay floor. The operatives buckled up, signalled a thumb's up, and the pilot brought the assault helicopter to a very low altitude, nose tilted upward and cargo door opened. The flight engineer reached for the release mechanism that kept the chains taut, gestured a thumb's up of his own and pulled down the level. The light-armoured vehicle revved up and jerked abruptly at the sudden release of the mechanism; smoothly it slid down the floor and landed on the grassland the helicopter was hovering over. It skidded uncontrollably for a couple of seconds before its driver regained control and now headed straight to Kiev._

"_Bougainvillea Brigade to Eagle's Nest. We are now approaching combat zone. Awaiting next order."_

"_Proceed with main objective as soon as you land. You must have the subject secured and away from harm. Completing secondary objective is an option, but do not let them distract you from your main objective."_

"_Understood."_

_The operatives looked at each other. They nodded, locked and loaded, and looked forward. One of them, acting as the driver, kicked the gas and brought MAMBA to a high speed as it raced across the grassland, heading to Kiev. A squad patch was visible as afternoon sun shone onto MAMBA and was reflected by its metallic surface._

_A shield with swords crossed on each other._

_Decorated by flower bouquets encircling it._

_Bougainvillea._

_Beautiful as the "paper flower" that bears its genus name._

_Yet painful, for its thorns will prick into the unsuspecting admirers._

x-x-x-x-x

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

Bright phosphorus light was released and blinded everyone within its explosion radius. The commandoes were the worst affected since they were equipped with vision-enhancing apparatus and they became almost helpless. They started firing around, aimlessly hitting their intended targets; some of them even opened fire on their own colleagues.

Amidst the confusion Henrietta saw a blonde-headed girl (carrying a clothed item over her shoulder) pouncing at the blinded commandoes and knocking them out cold with a punch on their jugular nerve. She saw another two commandoes brought down by two super-heated arrow bolts flying from nowhere. "What… happened?"

The frenzy continued. As the mysterious athletic girl broke through the resistance, and as more arrow bolts popped out of thin air, a young brunette girl roughly at the age of Henrietta rushed into the chaos and assisted the barehanded fighter. With Desert Eagle in hand, she fired several perfectly aimed headshots at the commandoes, reloaded and fired several more headshots. Once in a while she confronted the commandoes at ultra-close range and effortlessly defeated them with empty fists before the shooting continued.

"What the hell is going on?" frantically Sorceress Mizuki shouted. "Who are these people?!"

There was no response. Instead, the gunslinger girls took their initiative and fought the commandoes, while Chise provided cover for Shen. Triela, being the most physically fit, had no problems taking care of the adults and managed to knock out almost 10 of the mob (of course, this being done with Model 1897 Trench shotgun she carried inside its casing disguised as rolled canvas cylindrical box).

"Triela! Behind you!"

Triela turned around and saw a commando swinging his assault rifle at her, butt-stock aimed at her head. It was coming so fast Triela had no time to react, but then the commando was knocked back. She saw the athletic girl charging at the knocked off commando and delivered a fatal knee attack onto his chest. The girl turned to her, sported a thumb's up and attacked another wave of commando. This time, she took the item and undid the clothes, revealing a SPAS-12 shotgun.

"Rock and roll, baby!"

The girl turned around. She aimed the shotgun, pulled the trigger and fired double shot that shredded the commando apart. She ducked at the same time another commando pounced at him; she counterattacked with the shotgun's butt-stock and fired another shot on his belly.

The girl glanced at Triela. "Hey! Don't just stand there," she shouted, gesturing her to the commandoes coming toward her, "you better take care of those yourselves."

Triela smirked. "Challenging me, huh?" she spoke and reloaded her shotgun. She stared at the girl, who returned stare at her, and then rushed towards the commandoes. "Come on, punk!" the tan-skinned girl shouted and opened fire.

x-x

Rico disarmed one of the commandoes and used the Sig-550 for self-defence, knowing she would be overwhelmed if nothing was done. Angelica stayed close to Rico, using an MP5 she got from a dead commando.

"There are 50 of them…" Rico uttered. "No; make it 100. Maybe more."

The brunette girl approached her. Standing next to Rico, she reloaded her Desert Eagle and glanced at the blonde-headed girl. "I'll help you," she spoke, and Rico nodded in agreement.

They opened fire.

x-x

Henrietta and Claes rushed toward Hikki and freed him off the javelins. They were appalled by the magnitude of injuries the young man suffered. The girls brought him to safety when Sorceress Mizuki saw them escaping. "Don't let them escape, Mecha-Raptor!" The robotic dinosaur roared and charged at the escapees, claws and spikes fully deployed. Henrietta turned around and screamed in horror at the oncoming beast.

"_Leave them…! Or die…!"_

Hikki let go off Claes' arms. He turned around and faced Mecha-Raptor. He did not hear Claes shouting at him in distress, either due to the confusion of battle or because he chose to ignore it. Mecha-Raptor leapt toward Hikki, whom looked seemingly helpless against the machine beast and its ferocious arsenals.

He counterattacked.

A super-tense Reppuken sent Mecha-Raptor flying hundreds of metres away from Hikki and crashed on 18-wheelers parked across the street. It got up on its feet, screamed in animalistic outrage and fired javelins at Hikki. Unhindered by his injuries, he raised his palms and slammed them onto the road.

"CRESCENT STORM!"

The whole Kiev came to a standstill. The time-induced thunderstorm stopped all movements and put all beings into the state of a standstill. For full 25 seconds, Mecha-Raptor was struck by thousands of razor-sharp wind blades in rapid succession before destroyed by a wind vortex that exploded from ground beneath it.

The overdrive dissipated. Hikki discarded the remains of the wind blades and shrugged. He stood up, staggered on his feet and fell helplessly toward the pavement. Immediately Henrietta and Claes caught up with him before he could touch the ground.

"Are you alright, Hikki-_san_?" Henrietta asked.

Hikki shook his head. "My head hurts…!" he growled.

Seven more Mecha-Raptors reappeared and jumped in front of the youngsters. The mechanical beast screamed in beastly outrage and slowly marched toward them. Hikki signalled to them to take cover; "let me take care of these ancient lizards," he said and stepped forward.

"But Hikki, you're injured! You must not push yourself too much!" Claes pleaded.

He ignored it. Instead, he unleashed a pair of dark-coloured gales and glowered at Mecha-Raptors. "Just go," he insisted, his voice turned gloomy.

Mecha-Raptors roared. They pounced at the lone wind master. Claes and Henrietta cried in terror; to them, the injured young man seemed helpless against the ferocious monsters. To them, he could not -- should not -- die in front of their eyes, when they thought they could befriended him.

They were wrong.

"CHRONO INSTALL!"

A short burst of energy knocked the girls and the attacking dinosaurs away. In seconds, Hikki was enveloped in dark blue energy veil of Chrono Install. It worked like a charm; all the injuries slowly healed, and his body regenerated to full extent. Now fully revitalized, Hikki was more than hyped up to face the intruders and avenged his sister's death.

"Hikki!"

He responded to the cry. Turning on his feet, he snatched the attacking commando and drove him into the pavement. He left the dead man and snatched another commando; this time, he tossed him hundreds of metres above the battlefield and fired a Kami-Reppuken that disintegrated the commando. He glanced at Sorceress Mizuki; screaming in battle cry, he fired multiple gale projectiles at the female magician. Being totally unprepared to receive such attacks, she was slammed by thousands of tonnes of forces and was sent across the battlefield before crashing on a building.

"_Oneesan_… I shall avenge your death…!" He made his intention clear when he released energy wave previously circulating around his body.

The energy flow disturbed Shen. He was in terror; it was the very magic he had been assigned to retrieve! How in earth Mister Hikki could have such a dangerous power? This is not possible! I thought it had been sealed after Ai-Ris died! It's impossible! Shocked as he was, Shen could not approach the wind master as he was forced to fend off commandoes' attack. "I cannot get close to Mister Hikki…!" he cursed as he approached the defending Chise.

The murderous aura was so strong even Chise was knocked off her feet. "His murder intent is so strong…!" she whimpered. "Stronger than mine… how could he…?"

"We can't do anything for now!" Shen shouted and looked at the unconscious woman he was holding. "We can't do anything…"

"_Oneesan's_ death will be avenged…" Hikki brought his arms in a Just-Defend pose. He waited for the dinosaurs to come back at him. The dark gales grew more sinister and revolved violently around his palms as time slowly passed by. The Mecha-Raptors screamed again and pounced at him. Claws deployed, repeaters loaded, jaws wide open.

He countered.

"TIME HALT!"

x-x-x-x-x

Aurora was startled. She sensed the disturbance raging across the sky. It did not upset her, but somehow she felt an ill omen from the disturbance. With eyes closed, she spiritually talked with the wind, and nodded in silence as the element spoke of what was happening.

Lia looked at her. "What is it, mother?" she inquired, puzzled by her state of silence.

She opened her eyes. The disturbance was greater than anything she had predicted. She frowned, tightly shut her eyes and clasped her hands. "The child of Chrono is awakened… again. But…"

x-x

It woke up. Its peaceful slumber disturbed, the ancient dragon uneasily stared up the blue sky. "Something has gone wrong over the horizon…" it pondered.

Sitting beside the dragon, the Goddess of Present looked at it and was concerned. "What's the matter, Nagalintar?" Belldandy asked.

The dragon shook his head. "I have no idea, Goddess Belldandy," it uttered, its silvery eyes shining sadly. "But I fear something wrong has fallen upon my child Chrono. I fear…" So saying, its eyes rolled up to the heavens and it gave out a low-sounding sigh.

x-x

Mai's heart stopped. The sensation was frightening, and the woman in red clothing warily knew something had gone terribly wrong. She threw sight to the road that previously led to the plaza, and was in shock when she saw a gigantic thunderbolt striking down the heaven. "What is happening?"

"Huge electromagnetic disturbance detected from coordination 120-339," Reverie spoke when her internal database registered an unusual amount of electromagnetic pulse coming from the thunderbolt. She was unaffected; the modification done on her allowed her to survive even the heaviest concentration of EMP. Her ribbons glowed in alarming red, an indication that the EMP was classified to possess an S-Class threat. Tilting her head to the right, she could not help saying, "is the emission produced by a machine?"

"_Negative,"_ along came a cute-sounded voice inside her earpiece. _"A machine would be destroyed under its own power while generating this amount of energy. A possible explanation for this situation is that a natural phenomenon or an organic being is responsible for--"_

"Hikki!" She knew there could only be one explanation behind the element. "No! It can't be!"

x-x-x-x-x

The Mecha-Raptors were stopped in midair. The entire battlefield was brought into a frightening pause. Everybody could feel its effect; the gunslinger girls, the living weapon of mass destruction, the swordsman named Shen, the biomechanical predators, all of them. The effect of Time Halt was unlike how it used to be in its last incarnations; this time, time was brought to a halt.

Literally.

As if God had commanded Time to stop right on that moment.

As if Hikki was God, whose Time is in grasp.

Hikki crouched. The dark gales were already swollen, and only waited the exact moment to implode. His eyes burning deviously, all he needed to finish off the dinosaurs was to summon it.

It, the thunderstorm created, induced, nurtured, and awakened by Time.

He pressed both palms onto the pavement. Very hard.

And he screamed.

"CHRONO STORM!"

Thousands of lightning bolts appeared from the clear sky and slammed onto the ground. The suspended biomechanical dinosaurs were rapidly struck and started falling apart due to the high-energy bolts. Hikki screamed out loud and summoned a huge thunderbolt that destroyed the beasts in one strike.

Time Halt dissipated. So did Chrono Storm. All the two super-powerful overdrives left were scorched marks of lightning strike on the ground. The man who summoned the ultimate attacks slowly stood up, wind vortex discarded off his palm and frowned. With shades of shadow covering his eyes, he slowly walked toward the commandoes, murmuring Mriya's name under his breath.

"Urgh…"

He toppled off his feet. He staggered, quivered for a while and fell. Henrietta and Claes caught up with him and snatched his body before he could reach the battered ground. Claes checked for his pulse and was appalled. "He's not breathing… Hikki's not breathing! Quick! We must take him to a safe place!"

A commando stepped in front of the girls. "You're not going anywhere, girls! Surrender yourselves!"

Henrietta reacted.

She pounced at the commando, delivered a hard hit on his neck with the violin case and knocked him out cold. It broke off and revealed a P90 from inside it; Henrietta seized the sub-machinegun and started shooting at the mob. "Claes! Go! I'll cover you!"

"Henrietta, you need help! There are too many of them!" Claes shouted while struggling to holster Hikki's arm. "You can't do it alone!"

"Then you need some serious firepower."

Claes turned to the direction of the voice and saw a boy holding what looked like an M249 SAW in his arms. He pointed to a MAMBA parked next to a building and gestured her to bring Hikki to the South Africa-made LAV (light armoured vehicle). With no other choice up her sleeves, Claes brought Hikki out of danger and took cover inside the vehicle, all while the boy observed them from a distance.

He reached for his headset. "Villa 1 to Eagle's Nest. Target secured."

"_Affirmative, Villa 1. Proceed with second objective."_

"Understood."

The boy saw several commandoes pointing their weapons at Henrietta. He rushed toward the girl, went into a kneeling position and fired defensively at them. He managed to keep the commandoes at bay, all while Henrietta watched at him in intrigue.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I have no time for introduction, but please take this," the boy replied and tossed a magazine clip at her. "You might want to use it right now."

Henrietta did not have the chance to thank the boy when a couple of commandoes headed toward their position. Realizing she ran out of ammunition, she reloaded the sub-machinegun and opened fire. A short burst of 5.56mm NATO-issued bullets ripped off the commandoes' arm, and it shocked her.

"They're not human!"

"What?!" Triela repelled a punch and counterattacked with a blast from the shotgun. Nuts and bolts few from the commando and Triela saw in utter dismay mechanical components running inside of the commando's head. "Shit! It's a robot!"

By now, the table was turned against the defenders. The humanoid commandoes kept spawning and gradually outnumbered them. Despite the setbacks the girls fought valiantly, refusing to lose to the artificially created black ops. Shen, too, fought the commandoes, fiercely protecting Mriya from the assailants.

"I can't allow this to continue," he thought and decapitated an attacking commando. He backed off, held the broad sword and started transferring chi into the weapon. It glowed in sinister black aura and burst into a dark-coloured light blade; the energy was so strong it knocked Mizuki off her feet and pushed the commandoes far away from him. Shen lifted the light blade, aimed it downward and swung it to the pavement.

"SERPENT'S TEARS SLASH!"

A gigantic shockwave emerged from the impact point. With the roar of a demonic serpent, it ripped through the thin air and shredded all the commandoes who came too close to it. It even dismembered Mizuki's left arm, which was cut clean off its elbow joint.

"This can't be happening!" the sorceress cried out and held her injured limb. She looked at the chaotic battlefield and was enraged at the sight of the falling commandoes before her eyes. Determined to save her skin, she gathered her last strength and fled.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Mizuki turned around. A hard karate chop landed on her nape. Mizuki was knocked out cold, not knowing what had attacked her. She fell limp on the pavement, while the shotgun girl stood next to her with a cold gaze coming from her eyes.

"Villa 4 to Villa 1, area clear," she spoke through the headset.

"Villa 2 reporting; perimeter is secured," a husky voice was later heard.

"Villa 5 here. All threats have been eliminated," the brunette girl reported.

"Villa 1 to Eagle's Nest. Mission accomplished," the boy spoke.

"_Good work, Villa Team. Remain in the area until further order. Papa Tango is ready to pick you up."_

"Roger," all of them simultaneously answered.

The newcomers regrouped and headed to the awaiting MAMBA (save for one who walked out of the building and approached the vehicle first), while at the same time a troop of NBC officers rushed to assess the aftermath. The boy halted, only to take a glance at Henrietta and stared at the Italian girl for a long time.

After discussing with his colleagues, he approached the young girl. "This situation is under our control. You don't have to worry about it."

Henrietta blinked many times in surprise. "But we helped you, didn't we?"

"That is correct," he replied and corrected his headgears. "For your information, we are assigned by the Ukrainian government to take care of undisclosed and clandestine missions for them, like this incident. Initially, we didn't want to involve outsiders in this operation. However…" He paused, as to take time observing the battlefield. "We have been foretold that you have close relationship with our subject of investigation."

"You mean Hikki-_san_?" Henrietta asked. "What about him? Does he have anything to do with this matter?"

He nodded. "Well, then, please excuse us." The boy glanced to his colleagues who nodded in response. They headed to the MAMBA and left Henrietta wanting for more explanation.

"Wait!" The operatives halted. They turned around and saw Triela glowering at them in dismay. "Just who the hell are you? Why are you helping us? And where do you think you're taking Claes to, huh? Answer me!"

The operatives said nothing. All they did was just staring at Triela, who snapped in outrage and cried foul at them. They blatantly ignored her and looked upwards, where a Chinook assault helicopter popped above the city's skyline and landed on the cleared square. The girls climbed on-board the MAMBA and drove into the helicopter, neatly parked inside its cargo compartment. Then it slightly lifted off and hovered 10 metres above ground, dropping abseiling rope to the boy.

"Hey! You can't just go without telling us!" Triela demanded. The boy waved a salute to the girl and signalled at the helicopter pilot to fly out of the area. The aerial vehicle slowly disappeared in the clouds and left Triela shouting "Hey! Come back here! Hey! HEY!"

Triela punched the remains of Mecha-Raptor. "Shit! This… this can't be happening…!"

x-x-x-x-x

"Mister Chairman, I think you might want to see this."

The formally-clothed man approached the video screen. "I don't know whether you're interested, but you might consider revitalizing the case, Mister Chairman," said the surveillance officer.

The man, whom the surveillance officer addressed as the Chairman, gave him a long, concerned look. Then he diverted his eyes to the video screen. He squinted at the playback, relayed to the headquarters via satellite link, and nodded in amusement. It was a video footage of a hectic battle taking place in Kiev, and he could not help but wondering.

"Mister Chairman?" asked the surveillance officer.

The Chairman shrugged. He looked at the file tucked underneath his armpit, marked "CLASSIFIED" and tied in red ribbon. He looked back at the surveillance officer, and then at the rest of the operatives inside the control room. A glint of smile sparked upon his face as he walked away from the video screen. "Gentlemen, I believe the time," he spoke and corrected his eyeglasses. "Has come."


	6. Azov

**Heart of Melting Blood  
The Whistling Gale  
Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note:** _Soul Calibur_, _Guilty Gear_, _Tsubasa Chronicles_, _Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo_ and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.

**Please see**: for your information, _The Whistling Gale_, the third installment of the _Heart of Melting Blood_ saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ and _The World Within and Without's_ Machine Arc ended.

**Chapter 5  
Azov**

"_Dear Giuseppe. This is my first visit to Kiev, and truth to be told I'm a bit nervous visiting other countries. It was Sumomo that suggested us to go to this city to meet Hikki-san and his family. I was excited at first because I get to see someone whom Sumomo said is Robo Ky-san's friend. I expected the meeting to go smoothly, but I never thought it would end in tragic way. Hikki-san and his sister Mriya were attacked; how should I explain it here? I tried to understand what I saw, but..._

"_Well, I was glad that both of them survived, though Hikki-san was taken away by a group of children; oh, they even took Claes along. I don't know; they operated like we do, only their style is more militaristic. And I was intrigued; one of them looked at me as if was trying to tell me something. What did he want to say? Is it about Hikki-san?_

"_Right now, my friends and I are staying at Mriya-san's cottage. Mriya-san is alright; Mister Shen told me she just fainted, but I'm curious of why he didn't tell us the truth. We knew she was attacked, but why? And who is this Mizuki? What did she want from Mriya-san? And what's with the bio-dinosaurs? This is not Jurassic Park._

"_I wish you were here. But I guess you're too busy to visit another place, so I can wait."_

Henrietta closed her diary. She sighed; it was her first entry she wrote since she left Machine Eden, and it was not a good entry. She wondered whether it was the sign of things to come; the mysterious children paramilitary group, the weird power Hikki displayed in front of her, the humanoid commandos and the biomechanical dinosaurs, everything. She wondered whether it was a good idea to visit Kiev at the first place.

"I'm so bored." She left the desk and headed downstairs; already her friends were gathering in the living room, discussing the gunfire they were involved in days before. It had been three days since they arrived in Kiev, and things were not going well on their side. The emergence of the children paramilitary group was as mysterious as the sorceress that led the mob of humanoid commandos and biomechanical dinosaurs; Triela, especially, was pissed off by the boy who chose to ignore her demand left with Hikki and Claes (fortunately, Claes was _allowed_ to return to join them. Rico said nothing, while Chise gave her right arm a gentle massage. Reverie was standing next to the window, watching the falling leaves. Shen was nowhere to be seen. He was accompanying Mriya upstairs; his true reason remained illusive, although Triela suggested he and Mriya might be lovers (which was not generally accepted by the rest of the girls, especially since Mai was with him as well. Claes did not comment on this due to personal matters.).

"So what are we going to do now?" Triela asked and folded her arms. "I thought we'd have the chance to talk with Hikki, but..." She sighed and shook her head many times. "What is really going on? Who were those people, and why were they attacking him?"

"I have no idea," Rico said. "And the sorceress... what was her true objective? And why she wanted to take Mriya with her?"

"I don't know," Chise uttered and slowly began to curl into a ball. "It's so quiet here..." she spoke and embraced her legs.

Triela shook her head and grumbled in dismay. "Ah! It's so freaking bored right now! And there's nothing interesting in Kiev! RAH! I wish Victor was here..."

The doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Henrietta headed to the door before Reverie did and opened the door. She met a person who looked very upset. He, covered in elongated trench coat and wore a cap on his head, was staring at Henrietta for a very long time, causing the girl to freak out and hide behind Reverie.

Triela stormed in and faced the unwanted visitor. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Where is she?" Lone Wolf NEO asked. "Where is Mriya?"

x-x-x-x-x

"What is his status?"

"It's not good. We've tried very hard, but there are too many debris to take out from his body. The bleeding won't stop, either, even after we've tied all major blood vessels. At this rate… his chance of surviving this operation is very slim."

"Well, keep on trying. If all methods fail, switch to plan B. This kid… we can't afford to let him die right under our nose."

"Yes, General."

The woman stared through the Plexiglas. It was a controlled chaos inside the operation room. Seven surgical operators were working hard around the operation table where a boy was laid down. He was crippled; blood was constantly flowing out of his body (and collected inside a sterilised jar), and shrapnel was recovered form his internal organs (and put inside a metal tray). His heartbeat was low, and breathing could have been difficult without the respiratory-aid machine. It was a tough situation for both the boy and the doctors working on him.

The chief surgeon sighed. "This is not good," he uttered and put down his scalpel. He reached for his digital voice recorder and talked into its microphone. "October 29th, 13:30 hours. Subject's internal organs and limbs are either damaged or destroyed due to metal pieces we extract from his body. Blood transfusion still keeps on running, but we are unsure whether this procedure is enough to save him." The voice recorder paused, he turned to his colleagues who nodded, and resumed the recording session. "We will continue with plan B."

He glanced at the woman standing behind the Plexiglas. "We are awaiting approval from General Khrushchev," he uttered, in which the woman gave out a nod of approval. "Confirmed. General Khrushchev has given her approval. Proceeding with plan B."

The woman left the surgical theatre. She walked down the corridor, greeted by several workers as she headed to her office. With her mind full of convolution, she was thinking to take a quick afternoon nap before continuing her paper works.

"Mother Natalya?"

She turned around and saw a pair of hazelnut eyes staring contently at her. She smiled at the little girl standing before her and knelt, giving her a soft pat on her scalp. "Yes, Mariel dear? What can I do for you?" politely she asked.

"When are you going to continue the story?" the innocent-looking girl with a cute violet ribbon decorating her head asked. The woman looked at her and saw a children storybook with the title _Malim Kundang _snugly held between her lithe arms.

"I'm sorry, dear," she apologized. "I'm about to take my afternoon nap. So--"

"Oh! I'm sorry I meet you at the wrong time," regretfully the girl replied. "Can I come to your officer afterwards, Mother Natalya?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, you can. In the meantime, why don't you ask Uncle Aaron to supervise your weapon training? If he asks you who told you, just say it's an order from General Khrushchev"

The girl smiled. "I will. Have a good sleep, Mother Natalya." Respectfully she bowed to her and hurriedly ran down the corridor, all while she waved to the woman. She chuckled at the girl, who clumsily ran into a group of janitors and apologized to them before continued running.

Then she laughed to herself. "Mother Natalya? I haven't used that name for ten years," she pondered. Later, she let out a relieved sigh, stood up and took out a mobile phone from her pocket. After browsing through the phone book, she dialled a number and waited for the recipient to pick up the line.

"General Khrushchev here," she spoke. "Yes, yes. I know it's inappropriate to call you at this time. Say, Lancelot, I was thinking to ask you anything on interrogation; perhaps if you can come here and discuss with me. Yes, yes," and the conversation continued as she walked into the office.

X-x-x-x-x

Lone Wolf NEO frowned. His ex-girlfriend was lying motionless on the bed, not noticing his arrival or the presence of Shen and Mai. He could not believe the revelation that happened onto his very first love, and was appalled by what had happened to her. He was foretold by a certain "someone" (yes, someone with the _apostrophes_) that an ill omen was to fall upon the Falken Siblings; immediately afterwards he left Japan (and his fellows of all-girl colleagues) and headed straight to Kiev.

"I was too late..." It was the only word he could think of to describe the situation. "_A bit TOO late..."_ His face changed as he clenched his fist and trembled in anger. "Who did this?"

Mai shook her head. "Shen told me a group of people from Magnolia Valley came to Kiev and attacked Mriya and Hikki. Hikki fought back, but he was..." She didn't continue; she was concerned of Hikki's safety after evacuated by the children operatives.

"Magnolia Valley... so, even the place of good omen has turned to the dark side," Lone Wolf NEO uttered. "I wonder..."

"Is she going to be alright, Lone Wolf?" Mai asked.

Lone Wolf NEO approached Mriya. He held her hand and checked for her pulse. He shook his head. "Unless we retrieve all fragments of her memories, she will be nothing more than a marionette made of flesh and bone," he said and put down the hands. "So the answer would be, sadly, no."

"But how? There's no way we can go around the world and collect the pieces in time," she uttered. "And where we have to get started?"

Lone Wolf NEO turned to Shen. "You are Shen, are you not?" Shen slowly nodded to answer 'yes'. "You were there when Mriya lost her memory fragments, and you saw the fragments disappearing… were you not?"

"Yes, I was," Shen replied.

"Just as I thought." Lone Wolf NEO stood up and headed out of the room. "We're going to the backyard. Bring Mriya along." Shen nodded and gathered Mriya in his arms and followed the author's lead, while Mai did the same. The three people walked downstairs and stumbled across the gunslingers/living super weapon/humanoid stewardess at the living room.

_"Anou..." _Lone Wolf NEO halted and stared at Henrietta. "Who are you? You just came here and didn't introduce to us."

"My apology." Lone Wolf NEO coughed and corrected his attire. "My name is Lone Wolf NEO. That's all you need to know."

"Oh, okay," Henrietta replied.

"You seem to be on the rush. Where are you going, Mister Lone Wolf?" Reverie asked.

Lone Wolf NEO glanced at the planetarium worker. With her cute, innocent charm, he would have fallen to the woman had three factors not hindered him: Sheo Darren already got her first; his fiancée would jealously protest his pick, and Reverie's too damn attractive to become his girlfriend.

(Besides, Lone Wolf NEO has to admit that Reverie-_chan_ is so _kawaii_ he always faints in excitement only by thinking of her. Yeah, right. Then he should establish his own harem, that stupid--

**_FENRIR (one of Ace Combat X's super-planes) killed commentator with LWSM (Long Range Shockwave Missile)._**

"Alect 1 to Base. Target destroyed."

_**Gryphus 1 destroyed FENRIR with F-22A's XMAA.**_

"Gryphus 1 has destroyed Fenrir! HURRAH!" Gryphus 1's team-mates cheered.

"_Baaka,"_ Hoshino Ruri commented.).

"_I wish I had met Reverie-chan earlier…"_

Lone Wolf NEO shook his head. Politely he smiled to her. "I was thinking of asking you to help, Miss Reverie," he told her.

"I am more than pleased to assist you, Mister Lone Wolf," Reverie replied. "What can I do for you?"

"Well..." Lone Wolf NEO scratched the back of his head before he continued. "I need you to act as inter-dimensional relays for Mister Shen, because I'm going to send him through a portal. Can you help?"

"Hey! Your point is to let him leave and not taking responsibility? I object!" Triela protested. "What are you going to do about it, mister? Answer me!"

Lone Wolf NEO glared at Triela. Triela exchanged cold eyesight at the author. Both of them stared at each other for an extremely long time, neither of them wanting to surrender. Lone Wolf NEO shook his head and turned away; the fact that Triela had _suffered_ a painful ordeal forced him to consider her mental and physical situation.

_He's so going to die, that damn assassin…_

He coughed diplomatically. "The answer lies in the fact that both Hikki and Mriya are hunted by the PWAB and an unknown… yet dangerously ambitious organization. They are targeted because they have the key that can alter the course of history."

Henrietta frowned. "So… Hikki-_san_ and Mriya-_san_ were attacked because…"

"They couldn't kill them, because if they died, _they _would lose that _key. _But no matter what, they will capture Hikki, even if…" He noticed Claes turning away in displeasure due to the explanation. "What's the matter, Claes?"

"She was almost killed by the sorceress when Mister Hikki saved her," Shen explained. "I believe she owes him for the deed."

"Ah, I see. Hikki may look like he cares for no-one, but he's a kind man at heart." Lone Wolf NEO coughed for the second time and shrugged. "I wish I could clarify the situation, but right now I want all of you to come with me. Miss Reverie, will you come with me as well?"

"Certainly, Mister Lone Wolf," Reverie answered.

They were puzzled, not understanding what Lone Wolf NEO wanted from them. Yet they obliged and followed him to the backyard; they were, later, asked to form a crescent-shaped curve, with Reverie standing at the very centre of the line, while he stood at a gap between Chise and Henrietta. He signalled at Shen to take Mriya and stand in the middle of the formation.

"I will send you to the Dimension Sorceress," Lone Wolf NEO spoke and withdrew his NEO Dagger. "She will guide you along this quest, and will provide help should the situation persists."

"Dimension Sorceress…" Shen uttered. "Am I going to be alone?"

"No. You will be accompanied by two other people chosen for this journey," Lone Wolf NEO replied. "You will meet them once you arrive at her place. Are you prepared, Mister Shen?"

"I am ready."

Lone Wolf NEO coughed a couple of times. He spun the dagger several times in his hand and held it horizontally. With eyes closed, he touched the tip of the hilt with his palm.

And it started.

The people was intrigued, for the author murmured in a language neither of them had heard of or apprehend. Reverie, however, began lip-synchronizing with him while her ribbons glowed in yellowish orange. She spoke what seemed to be the transliteration of the secret language Lone Wolf NEO was chanting.

Her eyes stormed wide. So did his eyes.

"Open. The gate."

A strange symbol materialized under Shen's feet. It was a combination of circle, eight-pointed star and decagon, and it was full of intricate decorations that included calligraphies written along the inner side of the circle. The girls were awed, and Shen waited in anticipation.

It did not take long.

Slowly Shen sank into the middle of the symbol. Fear caught him, thinking that he was being sucked into oblivion but Shen fought the feeling, knowing that he would embark on a journey unlike anything else.

"Mister Shen," Lone Wolf NEO called him as he was about to fully submerge into the ground. "Take a very great care of Mriya." Shen looked up at him and saw him grinning. "I'm counting on you."

Shen nodded. "I will."

The swordsman disappeared. The symbol continued rotating on ground for several more revolutions. Then it, too, disappeared, leaving Lone Wolf NEO and the rest of the people in silence. The author put back NEO Dagger into its sheath and remained speechless for a couple of seconds.

Then he fell on his knees.

"Lone Wolf-_san_!" Both Mai and Henrietta rushed to help. "Are you alright, Lone Wolf-_san_?" Henrietta asked.

"_Heki, heki._ The procedure just sucked the hell of my strength; it's obvious._"_ Lone Wolf NEO glanced at Claes; she looked away from him for the second time, as if averting any eye contact with him. "Claes… I wonder…" Helped by Mai, he stood up and dusted his trench coat before he returned to the mansion.

He halted. Claes was calling him, and she sounded strangely poignant. Lone Wolf NEO turned to her and could no help sighing. "What is it?"

"Do you know when I… we will be allowed to meet Hikki?" she asked, still stooping her head.

Lone Wolf NEO scratched his head. "Well, to tell you the truth, I was told we aren't allowed to approach Hikki until the government says it's alright," he told her. "Or so the Bougainvillea Brigade told me."

Triela raised an eyebrow. "Bougainvillea Brigade? What's that?"

Lone Wolf NEO took out an invitation card. He read its content and gave it to Claes. "It's for you." Intrigued, the girl took the card and read the invitation before she looked at the author in confusion. "Yes, I know. That invitation is supposed to be for you _only_, so…"

"That's not-- hey, what kind of invitation is that?" Triela inquired.

Lone Wolf NEO glanced at the tan-skinned girl. "Oh, for once, please stop asking. You're acting like an old granny, you know. Where's your manner?"

Triela trampled his foot. She pouted at the teasing remark, said "moron!" and disgustedly went back into the mansion.

"That hurts..." Lone Wolf NEO groaned. "She's more violent than Hibiki-_chan_. Wow."

It was his mistake.

Triela returned to him. She caught him on the collar, lifted his body _almost_ effortlessly and tossed him to the ground with a Summer Slam. Then she left the crippled author and headed to the mansion, while the rest of the people gathered around him.

"Are you alright, Mister Lone Wolf?" cutely Reverie asked

x-x-x-x-x

The woman waited. Not hindered by the rain that was falling cats and dogs. She stared at the pavement, quietly and patiently. Her two assistants also waited, knowing that their perseverance would pay off. The downpour was heavy, yet the atmosphere it brought was nothing like any heavy rain would induce; it was melancholic and mysterious, much like the woman itself.

She nodded. "Here they come."

A symbol appeared. At its middle came a glassy orb of liquid matter. It burst, and emerged from it were two people, one being held by the other. The woman smiled at the newcomers and glanced at the spot behind them. Soon, two similar orbs showed up and broke off, releasing two different people onto the dampened ground. One of the twos angrily looked around him, fists taut and shivering.

"Where the hell am I?" Yagami Iori demanded.

The other person was puzzled at the sight of the area. "Strange. I thought I was still at the park with Nodoka," Negi Springfield interjected.

Shen looked around. He held Mriya as close to his body as he could. "Is this the place?"

"Welcome." The three men looked forward. The woman was smiling to them and gestured at her assistants to step slightly backward. "I believe you have been told prior to this meeting… have you not?"

"Who the hell are you? What do you want from us?" Iori growled.

The woman slyly giggled and squinted at Iori. "My name is Yuuko, and I am a Dimension Sorceress."

"Dimension Sorceress… then you're the one Mister Lone Wolf had told me before!" Shen exclaimed.

The woman nodded. "Yes, I am the person."

_**To be continued...**_


	7. Yesterday Once More

**Heart of Melting Blood  
****The Whistling Gale  
****Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note:** _Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo_ and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. The Whistling Gale, the third instalment of the Heart of Melting Blood saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ and TWAAW's _Machine Arc_ ended. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.

**Chapter 6  
****Yesterday Once More**

**Date**: UNDISCLOSED  
**Time**: 17:50 HOURS  
**Area**: SHANGHAI, CHINA

"_Yagami-niisan?"_

"What?"

"Do you like Halloween?"

"Why in a sudden you ask that kind of question? Are you sick?"

"Actually, Iori, May wants to know whether she can cosplay for you as a cat-girl. Oh, she also mentions--"

"_Iie_! Bridget, that's embarrassing!"

"But it's the truth! You've always wanted to cosplay for your precious big brother, haven't you?"

"But that's not the case!"

Iori laughed. He threw his sight to the autumn sky and sighed in a mixture of joy and melancholy. Today, he was spending time walking in the park with Bridget and May, already his closest companions in his life. He had forgotten the hectic days he had to endure while he was a KOF fighter -- everything: Rugal's world domination bid, N.E.S.T.S, the resurrection of Orochi and his mortal enemy Kusanagi Kyo. He no longer wore the trademark 'Crescent Moon' battle suit, which he discarded off in favour of a more casual, easy-to-wear outfit. His red-dyed hair remained intact, though; he had no intention of changing hairstyle (to quote May: "you look terribly and AWFULLY ugly when you cut your hair, _oniisan_!).

_(Author's comment: he indeed looks FREAKING ugly in his KOF Maximum Impact reincarnation. Bare chest? He's no Mito Anji! Spiked hair? He's no Son Go-Han!)_

"So what?" he asked himself. "I'm no Sol Badguy, and I'm certainly not a paedophile, but at least I listen to other people's opinion."

Bridget beamed at him. "Dude, are you sick or something?"

May bopped him. "Bad Bridget! Don't dare bad-mouthing my oniisan!"

"I'm not badmouthing your precious brother, O Mistress 'I-Have-A-Man-Who-Can-Kill-Me-Anytime-He-Wants-to,'" Bridget mocked. May squealed in dismay and strangled his neck. "Ow! Ow! You're killing me!"

"And that's what I'm going to do!" May exclaimed and wringed her arms about his neck.

Iori shrugged. At least, the argument never failed to amaze him. He wondered if he had the chance to indulge in such friendly quarrel like it. "Oh, well." He left the young people and walked up the road that led to the lake. "Now what was I supposed to do here…?"

His step halted. His inner sight sensed a terrible omen. Sure, he no longer had the desire to kill, but being a martial artist had prepared him with the ability to 'foresee' upcoming events. Cautiously he observed the surrounding area and saw an orb materializing a couple of hundred feet before him. The orb of liquid matter slowly grew until it reached the height of a young boy and stayed.

Bridget and May saw the orb as well. "What is that?" the pirate girl asked.

The orb pulsed. Suddenly, without giving Iori the chance to prepare, it leapt forward and hurled itself -- at Iori. It instantly seized Iori's body and began pulling him into the ground. "What the hell is this?!" The purple flame warrior tried getting rid of the orb, but the more he fought the more 'sticky' it became. He became furious and fired an intense purple column at the orb; it failed leave even a single mark upon it.

"Yagami-_niisan_!"

Iori turned to May. He couldn't let himself lose to a non-living matter! So he cried a battle cry and landed Eight Maiden Masher on the orb's inner wall. Savagely he ravaged the matter in an attempt to escape from the orb. It didn't work; the attack merely stiffened the orb's inner wall, and as the liquid globe descended into the ground, a strange geometrical symbol appeared below it, slowly spinning in counter-clockwise movement.

The orb finally disappeared, taking Iori along. The symbol disappeared as well, and May was crying his name aloud in horror. Bridget tried assessing the situation when he saw an invitation card fluttering down the sky and landed on where the orb had been. He picked it up, opened the envelope and read its content. "This is not good," he uttered and handed it over to May. The pirate girl read the hand-written note on the card.

_MRIYA LOST HER FEATHERS. RECOVERY IS IMMINENT. IORI'S ASSISTANCE IS URGENTLY NEEDED._

"Mriya?" May closed the card and threw her sight to the evening sky. "I think… I know who sent the orb."

Bridget looked at her, all confused. "What? Who?"

x-x

**Date**: OCTOBER 30th, XXXX  
**Time**: 13:30 HOURS  
**Area**: MAHORA ACADEMY, JAPAN

"_Anou, _Negi_-sensei…"_

"What is it, Nodoka?"

"_Iie_… I thought it was kind of weird when you suddenly ask me to go out. Is there anything special about it?"

The 10-year-old English teacher laughed heartily. He threw his sight to the autumn sky and outstretched his arms. "Nothing. I just want to walk around with my students." Several female students excitedly waved to him, and Negi gratefully waved to them. "See?"

Miyazaki Nodoka, president of the Library Club, just nodded. "Negi-sensei, I heard you got letter from your family in Wales. How are they doing?"

"Oh, they're doing fine. Though _oneechan_ was worried about me in the letter," he continued with a chuckle. "I can already look after myself here. She shouldn't feel troubled too much."

Nodoka wooed. "I bet she still cares of you, isn't she?" She slightly gasped when a gust of autumn wind breezed upon her face. She looked up and could not help but be awed by the reddish colour of the horizon. "Autumn's leaving so quickly. I wonder what we should do for our Halloween party."

Negi could only laugh. He, too, was planning to organize a Halloween party for his class, though he had no idea of the best plan he should use. If anything else didn't work, he was thinking of letting the girls do the work. "Well, you know, Nodoka, there is always--"

Negi paused. His magic sense detected a disturbance but could not pinpoint the exact location. Anxiously he looked around when he found the world inexplicably 'slowing down'. "Someone is using magic to slow Time!" He cast Haste upon him and the unaware Nodoka, only to find his spell not working! He struggled to remain calm, but then a mysterious symbol appeared under his feet and began sucking him into the ground.

"Damn it! What is this thing?!"

The symbol caged him in its middle part. Negi was sealed inside the symbol and cut off from outside world; strangely enough, neither Nodoka nor the rest of Mahora Academy's residents felt the disturbance in time and space dimension. Desperate to flee from the 'dimension lock' Negi cast a powerful bind break to nullify the effect of the symbol. It was a fruitless effort; slowly it brought him into the ground and took him away from Mahora Academy. Away from his students.

_Away from Nodoka._

When Nodoka turned to her left, Negi was no longer with her. "Negi-_sensei_?" She looked around, calling out his name. "That's weird. I thought Negi-_sensei_ was with me just now," she pondered.

x-x-x-x-x

The trio looked at Yuuko. Yuuko stared at the trio. The two sides were saying nothing for a very long time, even as the rain grew heavier. They waited for someone to say something -- anything -- before somebody lost temper.

"Why are we here?" Negi finally asked.

"A very good question," Yuuko spoke with a snicker. She looked at each of the newcomer and nodded in acknowledgement. "Yagami Iori, Negi Springfield and Shen. The three of you are here because you have been selected to carry out the task to retrieve the woman's feathers," she said and pointed to Mriya for reference.

Negi looked at the said person. "What happened to her?"

Iori squinted at Mriya. "I thought I had seen before."

"Simply put," Yuuko uttered, "someone or something with powerful magic had severed her body and sent her feathers across the universe." She coughed in low voice and continued. "As I said earlier, your task is to retrieve her feathers before it's too late. However…"

"However?" Shen asked.

Yuuko grinned. "There's a price to pay."

Negi was curious. "What do you mean there's a price to pay, Yuuko-_san_?" he asked.

"You know, Negi-_chan_," Yuuko spoke, her smile still retained its cynical characteristic (the suffix -_chan_ caused Negi to blush; Yuuko snickered at the boy's reaction), "not all things in this world come for free. Even the time of your birth required your parents to sacrifice their commitment towards you. Isn't that the truth?"

Shen looked more confused. "I don't understand what you're saying," he spoke, "but if there's anything I have to do in order to save Miss Mriya, then I will do it."

Yuuko chuckled. "As expected from the swordsman himself. I'm impressed; you remind me of that boy when he first came here." Shen stared deeply at the Dimension Sorceress, waiting for her explanation. Yuuko chuckled again and signalled her assistants to step forward. "Where is Mokona, I wonder?"

"Mokona is over here!" the white fluffy creature declared and flew over Yuuko's shoulder. "Mokona senses something exciting from you! Mokona wants to know, _doki-doki_!"

"Everybody, this is Mokona, one of my trustworthy assistants," Yuuko explained, "for this journey, it will act as inter-dimensional portal for you to travel between universes. Mokona will also act as an indicator whether it detects the presence of Mriya's feathers. It will let you know whether it feels the feathers' power or not."

Mokona grinned smugly. "That's what Mokona does."

"Well, then." Yuuko turned her attention to Iori. "Yagami Iori, the descendant of Yagami Clan, and the mortal enemy of Kusanagi Kyo."

Iori frowned. He completely despised of the name. "I wish I could actually kill him…!"

"I want to have the purple flame and Orochi blood of yours," she uttered. "Until this journey is complete, I shall look after them for you."

"What? Step over my body first, woman!" Iori roared.

"So, you decide to remain within the curse of Orochi Clan," Yuuko uttered. "Very well, I won't bother you. But the choice is in your hand."

The sick-looking Iori grumbled. "Bah! Do whatever you want to do," he retorted and forcefully extracted a globe of energy from his palm, "but the purple flame stays with me. Now take it."

"That alone should be enough." Yuuko lifted her palm and pulled the orb that contained Iori's cursed Orochi blood toward her. She smiled at the sinister red colour the orb was sealing, and handed it over to her assistants. "And as for you, Negi-_chan_."

"_Haii?"_

Yuuko pointed to the magic staff Negi was holding. "That staff… would you like me to keep it?" Negi protested and zealously protected the staff inherited from his family between his arms. Yuuko smiled at his response and swaged her finger, reminding him of the rule. "Now… may I?"

Negi had to give up. Reluctantly he gave the magic staff to Yuuko's assistant and stooped his head. "Please look after it for me. _Onegai_…"

Yuuko nodded. Her final attention was Shen. The man was staring at her, both strangely and curiously, whilst keeping Mriya as close to his body as he could. "Shen, answer this question. Why do you take this precarious journey? Why are you so eager to retrieve the woman's feathers? How important she is to you?"

Shen frowned. His mind was seeking for a seemingly impossible answer. All in a while, he looked back and forth between the Dimension Sorceress and the unconscious Mriya. Iori and Negi waited for his answer, wanting to know the significance of the journey.

"Miss Mriya is…" he finally spoke. "Miss Mriya has done something other people never did to me before. Just thinking of the pain she had to endure when she lost her feathers… makes me wonder whether there's something I can do, at least, to ease the pain."

"Even if by taking this journey," Yuuko uttered, "you may never be able to pay her back?" Shen looked back at her, perplexed by the question. "Listen, Shen. You may be able to salvage the feathers, but that doesn't mean she will remember you. There's no absolute guarantee she will regain every piece of her memory."

"I don't care," Shen insisted. "I don't care whether Miss Mriya will remember me or not. As long as… as long as I get to see her smiling face again… that alone will be enough."

Yuuko closed her eyes, nodded to herself, and grinned. "Well, then. Your sword, please." Shen had no idea of what she was talking about, but he gave his broad sword to her assistant anyway. "If you can prove your words, you shall get this sword back. If you fail… you will lose it forever."

Shen nodded. "I understand."

Yuuko gestured Mokona to step forward. "It's your turn, Mokona."

"Just leave it to Mokona!" Instantly, Mokona glowed brightly and grew wings from its back. Then it flew around the trio several times before halted in the ground between them and Yuuko. "Mokona is ready for another adventure, doki-doki!" So saying, a circular-shaped symbol similar to the one that brought Shen to the mansion appeared on the ground, spinning in counter-clockwise movement. Moments before Mokona 'sucked' them into its mouth, Shen glanced at Yuuko and saw her smiling at him (it was not clear whether it was to encourage or was simply a taunt). Then he looked at back at Mriya, still unconscious in his arms, and smiled.

"Don't worry, Miss Mriya. I will find your feathers and return them to you."

"NGAP!" Mokona 'swallowed' the trio and jumped into the middle of the circle, leaving Yuuko and her assistants in the rain. The circle disappeared altogether, and Yuuko said nothing to bid farewell to them. She smiled and threw her smile to the grey sky.

"Lone Wolf NEO… I wonder if he ever knows what he's doing…"

x-x-x-x-x

He stood alone. Under the shadows of the magnolia tree, Lone Wolf NEO stared into the afternoon sky of Kiev. It had been two days since he entrusted Shen to retrieve all of Mriya's feathers, and he began to miss his dear ex-girlfriend. He was concerned, not only of her safety during the journey that could not be guaranteed to be safe, but also the fate of his protégé Hikki. Whether he survived the fatal injuries (as an inside person had 'informed' him after he arrived in Kiev) he did not have any idea.

His thought was disturbed when someone approached him. Warily he looked behind. He sighed in relief to know it was Henrietta. "What's the matter?" he asked and looked back into t he sky.

"Nothing; I thought I could spend a bit of time talking with you," the Italian girl said.

Lone Wolf NEO did not reply. He didn't have to; at least, he had someone who was willing to talk with him. "So?" he uttered, not looking at her.

"Can I ask you something, Lone Wolf-_san_?" Lone Wolf NEO did oblige and stared at her. "It's Mriya-_san_. How important she is?" Henrietta asked.

"She was… she was my girlfriend." So saying, he withdrew NEO Dagger and stared into his reflection on its blade. "Both of us had been lovers for some times before we had to break up. Still, that never affects our relationship. Even today, we still keep contact with each other."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Lone Wolf-_san_," Henrietta said, a tad looking sad at the explanation.

"It's fine with me; I'm used to it." Lone Wolf NEO said nothing afterwards. Henrietta waited for him to continue, not noticing that Chise was standing next to her. "This is getting too much for us…" he growled.

"Are you alright, Lone Wolf-_san_?" Henrietta asked and approached the Author.

"I am not." He closed his eyes. "I am _not_ alright."

Inexplicably Lone Wolf NEO swung his dagger --not at Henrietta but at the magnolia tree. The tree was struck and instantly cut into half. Henrietta and Chise were shocked in horror at the sight of the angry author, and could do nothing even as Lone Wolf NEO destroyed the tree with multiple strikes. "I shall make them pay…!" he growled and put back NEO Dagger into its sheath. Without looking at the girls, he entered the mansion, ignoring Reverie who was greeting him.

"He's angry…" Henrietta uttered in shock. "I never know Lone Wolf-san is easily angered."

Reverie approached the girls. "Mister Lone Wolf didn't respond to me. I wonder what happened to him," she spoke.

"We were having a talk about Mriya-_san_, and all in a sudden he went mad." Henrietta slightly frowned. "I wonder if it's because of what happened to her."

"I think that might be the reason," Chise said. "By the way, Henrietta. Why don't we go for shopping? I heard there's a bazaar that sells clothes with discounts."

"That's a good idea, Chise," Henrietta answered. "Do you want to come with us, Reverie-_chan_?"

Reverie slightly tilted her head to the right, putting a finger upon her cheek as if to think. Then she smiled at the girls. "Sure, I would like to." She looked up to the sky and saw snows falling down to the earth. "It's snowing."

Henrietta and Chise looked up as well. "How romantic," Henrietta uttered, "to have snow falling in times like this."

Claes looked outside the window. She was reading book inside her room when snow fell, and she felt strangely empty. Not that she didn't have any friends to talk with, but the absence of Hikki in the mansion was somehow unacceptable. It might have been due to the fact that she owed him for saving her from the assailants. She still remembered the words of advice the Bougainvillea Brigade squad leader told her before she was allowed to return to Kiev.

"_Unless you are very certain you want to share the matter with your friends, it is best to keep it secret between us. You and the brigade."_

She sighed. She closed the book she was reading and lowered her eyeglasses. She gazed at the snowy sky. "Hikki…"

x-x-x-x-x

He woke up. For a very long time, Hikki stared at the empty ceiling, unsure of what to say or to do. The first thing he did was to inspect his body; he realized he no longer felt pain despite the bandages that wrapped his body. "That's weird. I seemed to have recovered. Did… something happen to me?"

He looked to his left. He saw a young girl seating next to the window, quietly reading a book. That girl reminds her of someone, he thought, but when and where? "Excuse me," he spoke, "where am I?"

The girl lowered the book. She stared at Hikki, realizing he had woken up. "You just woke up, Mister Nicky. Please wait for a moment; I'll inform Mother Natalya." She jumped off the chair, put the storybook on the bedside table and hurriedly left the room. Hikki was befuddled with the name 'Nicky' and was even speechless as he saw the girl returning to the room with a woman.

"Who are both of you?"

The woman thanked the girl and approached him. "We are the Bougainvillea Brigade, Ukraine's special operation unit," the woman began. "My name is Natalya Khrushchev, and this is Mariel. We are very pleased to meet you, Nicky."

The girl in question bowed to him. "Pleased to meet you, Mister Nicky."

Hikki's face twisted. "Nicky? Is that my… new name?" He held his head and shook anxiously. "I thought I already have a name, but I can't seem to remember…"

"You are here because you were --severely injured in an incident," Natalya spoke, not telling him the truth of the battle. "Bougainvillea Brigade is specialized in helping those who need our expertise to save them from the edge of death. But there is a price." So saying she put the briefcase she was holding on the bed and opened it. Hikki peeked into it and saw a pair of Beretta M92FS handguns with several magazine clips. "In return of the… service, you must work with us. As a special agent."

Hikki stared at Natalya, and then at Mariel. "Then this girl is, too?" Mariel nodded to answer _yes_. He frowned; his mind was too convoluted to think of anything and he was too confused to speak something.

"Mother Natalya, I think Mister Nicky is confused," Mariel said.

"Indeed he is. Wasn't that the first reaction you gave me many months ago?"

The girl looked at the source of the voice. She saw a man in his mid-50's standing near the door, grinning to her. "Grandpa!" Excitedly Mariel hurled towards the man, happily hugging him on the legs. "Welcome home, Grandpa! I missed you!" feverishly she said.

The man laughed and knelt. He playfully patted Mariel's head and said "how is my little princess doing?"

"Umm! I'm doing all fine!" Mariel said and happily wrapped her arms about the man's neck. "I missed you so much! It's boring here when you're not around!"

The old man laughed again and patted her head. "I'm sorry, Mariel, but I had an outstation work to take care of." Mariel protested at the answer and emphasized it by beating him on the chest. "Ow! Ow! Ow! You mustn't hurt Grandpa, Mariel!"

"Only if you agree to buy me more storybooks as my Christmas present!" Mariel answered.

Hikki looked at the old man and Mariel, the former noticing he was being watched. He let go off Mariel and sported a salute. "Greetings, Mister Nicky. I am Andrew Lancelot. Starting today, you and I are going to me protégé and mentor. I expect cooperation from you in the future."

Hikki was more confused. "Protégé? Mentor? What is the meaning of these? Why am I even here? Somebody!"

"We wish we could answer you the question, but we are asked by our superior to keep it secret from you." Here Natalya corrected her eyeglasses and sported a grin. "At time being." She turned to Grandpa who nodded at her gesture. "Well, if you could excuse us for a while."

"Can I stay with Mister Nicky for a while?" Mariel asked.

"Yes, you can," Natalya said. "Do you have anything with him, dear?"

"Yes! I want to know if he knows anything about storybooks," she said.

"But he needs to get a lot rest, Mariel," Natalya told her. "You shouldn't bother him for a while. Let him rest, okay?"

Mariel frowned. "I thought I could befriend Mister Nicky…" she sadly uttered.

"Err… sir, ma'am, just let her stay," Hikki insisted and looked at Mariel. "I'm not bothered."

"If you say so, Nicky."

"Oh, thank you so much, Mother Natalya!" Mariel approached Hikki and started asking him questions, most of which were strange to him. Hikki let her; at least, it was better than to be left in this place of nowhere.

"Oh, yes." Natalya and Grandpa turned around and looked at Hikki, who was being pestered by Mariel's questions. "Nicky, I'd like to inform you that you will undergo trainings for your first assignment this New Year. So take a lot of rest and think of what you're going to do. Okay?"

"And one more thing," Grandpa added and stared at Hikki. "Tomorrow you'll be introduced to the rest of the team-mates. Mariel will help you along, so don't worry if you can't say anything to them."

The two persons left the room. Now, Hikki was dumbfounded. _What is really going on? What is this Bougainvillea Brigade? Who are they? Do I have anything with them?_ He, then, stared at Mariel who was smiling to him. _And why is this girl asking me so many questions? Give me a break, will you?_

"Do you like reading books, Mister Nicky?" Mariel asked.

"Before I answer that question," Hikki said as he warily started a conversation with the enthusiastic girl. "Drop that _mister_ suffix. Just call me with my name, okay?"

"But isn't it wrong to formally address you with such suffix?" Mariel asked.

Hikki shrugged. "I find it not suiting for me." He noticed that Mariel was frowning and quickly reassessed the answer he had given. "Crap. I shouldn't make a girl look sad."

Mariel giggled. Hikki was intrigued; what was that for? A sign of affection, or just to tease? "You're so funny, Mister-- I mean, Nicky. Are you always like this?"

Hikki shook his head. "I don't know. It's just… oh, I forgot I have a question to answer." He coughed several times and corrected his seating posture. "If you want to know the answer, that would be 'yes'. I like reading books; it is the essence of knowledge, you see." _What the hell am I doing? I'm having a conversation with a stranger, and I didn't even care of who she is!_

"So can I share you some of the books I have?" Mariel asked.

"Eh? Why would you?" Hikki wondered.

Mariel giggled and corrected the purple ribbon clipped on her head. "You see, every month everybody in the brigade would give me a book or two as presents, and I can't finish reading all of them," she explained. "I was wondering whether you could help me finishing some of the books. Is that alright with you?"

Hikki was silent. His eyes were focused on the handguns, still neatly kept inside the briefcase. Then he looked back at Mariel, who was waiting for his answer. He sighed in submission. _It can't be helped, can it?_

"Sure, I'd like to."


	8. A Book of Misjudgment

**Heart of Melting Blood  
****The Whistling Gale  
****Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note: **_Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo_ and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. _The Whistling Gale_, the third instalment of the _Heart of Melting Blood_ saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ and TWAAW's Machine Arc ended. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.

**Chapter 7  
****A Book of Misjudgement**

_// Falken Mansion //_

Triela growled. She was alone, for many good reasons, Hillshire being one of them. She tried calming herself by doing house chores and playing with toys, all of which were in vain. For her, whether she wanted to admit or not, Hillshire was her _top_ priority every time Christmas arrived. Since Christmas passed two days ago, she became even more bored especially since there would be several more days before New Year came, and Hillshire was _not_ there to celebrate.

"Good morning, Triela." She turned around and saw Mai accompanied by Rico as she walked down the staircases. Lazily she waved to the pregnant woman and continued browsing the glass box, taking out one of the models displayed inside of it. "You look troubled. Did anything happen?"

"No." She put down the porcelain cat and glanced at Mai. "Actually, yes. It's that Lone Wolf NEO guy." She grumbled at the mention and shook her head. "He gives me both the creeps and annoyance ever since he arrived here. Won't you say something about… your father-in-law?"

Mai furiously blushed. "What- what are you talking of? Lone Wolf's not my father-in-law!" she denied.

Triela folded her arms, pretending she did not accept the answer. "Oh, really?" she insisted, cynically squinting at Mai. She scowled at the sight of the pregnant woman's swollen figure and grumbled. "Whose child is that?"

"Hikki and I…" nervously Mai replied. "It's our first child. I was frightened at first when the doctor told us I'm pregnant, but now…" Softly she patted her belly and faintly smiled. "I'm hoping to have a baby girl, but Hikki said he wants a boy. Well, at least we're going to be a family."

Triela shook her head. "Is it really that important? I don't want to think of it, so… whatever." Her eyes, however, told the opposite. The pain she felt on her belly resulting from the assassin boy's stab came again, and she cringed as she tried to hide the pain.

"Are you alright, Triela?" Rico asked.

Triela shook her head. "NO! I'm doing fine, I'm doing fine," she said and laughed silly. "Yeah, sort of."

She heard footsteps coming from the outside. Triela looked over her shoulder and was startled. Mai and Rico said nothing as well, for they were looking at the unlikely sight of the respective heroines of _Gunslinger Girl, Planetarian_ and _Saikano_ in Lolita Christmas dresses.

"Oh, dear," was that Mai could only say.

"I feel a little bit embarrassed, Miss Henrietta," Reverie spoke and examined the dress. "This costume… it is not designed for the type of service I'm in."

"Why not?" The red-haired giggled and sported a pose, in which Chise later imitated. "This is the hottest trend of this year's Christmas."

"And you look absolutely cute in that cat-ears, Reverie-_chan_," Chise uttered and wiggled her cat-tail. Reverie could only sigh and tried smiling; the reaction caused Henrietta and Chise to gush in excitement, and the female humanoid was instantly wrapped in arms.

"I don't believe this is Lone Wolf's doing," Triela uttered. "Because if he does, I swear I will have to kill him with my own hands."

"At least they don't have to _wear_ ribbons," Rico stated, and was stared at by the girls. "What? Did I say anything?"

"Did anybody see Lone Wolf?"

Nobody replied. They, instead, stared at Claes who looked confused at the response her colleagues were giving. Triela gave the spectacled girl a long, doubtful stare before cynically grinned. "I see," she uttered, "I never thought our self-proclaimed Miss Care-For-Own-Self does actually care of other people."

Claes frowned. "It is not your own business, I remind you," she warned.

"Oh, come on, it's not the first time you've been concerned of somebody else," Triela insisted. "You even wanted to talk about Hikki last night, but you kept refusing it." Claes glowered at Triela, whom returned glare at her. "What's the matter? Can't you see? You owed him because he saved you, and yet you acted like you didn't appreciate it."

By now, Claes' face was burning red. Whether it was of embarrassment or of anger, only she knew the answer, although Triela had another idea of it. "That is _not_ the case."

"That reminds me," Reverie spoke. "Mister Lone Wolf hasn't come home since last night. He said he would be here as soon as he finished some matters, but…"

"What matters?" Claes asked, looking worried at the statement.

Reverie was about to answer when the bell was rung. The planetarium worker shrugged off Henrietta and Chise, and approached the door. As she opened the door, everybody inside the house was intrigued when they saw a young girl in red blouse and red hat, neatly holding a wooden pole wrapped in cloth.

"How can I help you, ma'am?" Reverie.

The girl stared at Reverie. Then at the rest of the people inside the house. "I'm very sorry for disturbing, but is he here?" she asked.

"Who are you looking for, ma'am? Perhaps you could step inside first," Reverie said and showed her the way in. The girl obliged and followed her to the living room, all while the other girls watched in intrigue.

"I can't help but wondering," Henrietta uttered. "Who is she, anyway?"

"She looks kind of cute," Chise added.

The girl halted. She turned to Henrietta and put down the luggage. "My apology for not having a proper introduction." She bowed and took off her red hat. "My name is Elsa Kobayashi. Pleased to meet each and every one of you."

Henrietta was startled. So did Claes, Triela and Rico. Mai and Reverie stared at her, the latter saying: "have we met before? I seem to have heard of that name."

The girl looked back at Reverie. "I'm very sorry, but I don't think I have any account of that," she uttered.

The door opened. Everybody looked at the newcomer, who turned out to be Lone Wolf NEO. He seemed to ignore them as he walked upstairs, passing Reverie who looked at him in wonder. "Is he alright? He looks messed up," the humanoid asked.

Lone Wolf NEO halted. He looked back at the girls. Then at the guest, who was standing next to Reverie in silent. "Another guest? Well, I guess there are some who still want to visit us," he uttered and shook his head. "I should get enough sleep. I've been at the railway station for one whole day without getting any rest."

His eyes locked at the girl named Elsa, whose eyes shone brightly as she looked up at him. "Do you need anything, missy?"

Inexplicably, Elsa rushed towards Lone Wolf NEO and gave him a very tight embrace, not giving the author any chance of saying anything. The girls blinked many times in surprise at the act. Despite this, Lone Wolf NEO still managed to keep himself steady. "Whoa! What's this? A plot device?"

Then, in a twist of event, she said this word aloud: "Papa!"

Triela's jaw dropped. Henrietta and Chise gasped. Rico and Claes were speechless. Mai was surprised. Reverie tilted her head. Lone Wolf NEO had the look of "what the hell?!" carved upon his face. _Papa?! What kind of revelation is this? Why in the word someone who just came out of nowhere would hurls towards Lone Wolf call him papa? And who is her mother?_

Finally after getting it over, Lone Wolf NEO stared at Elsa. "Papa?!"

The girl smiled. "I've found you, papa!"

x-x

_Previously…_

"Christmas… huh?"

Lone Wolf NEO sighed. It was not that he did not like Christmas, or the fact that he _could_ not celebrate it. Even Reverie's invitation for a Christmas dinner at Falken Mansion was declined for many good reasons, in which he would rather not talk with. It was strange, he thought, to be afar from people he used to mix up with and settled in the land of uneasy peace with a bunch of girls he was unfamiliar with.

If that was the case, what was he doing outside, standing in the middle of falling snow next to the railway station?

He was told that someone would arrive in Kiev by train, and he figured that he should be the first person to greet him or her upon arrival. A day had passed, and although Christmas had just passed, he could see a group of children choir singing carols and people gathering around them in interest. Another group of children was seen selling Christmas candies to passengers and wishing them for a blessed day. He looked back at his wristwatch; the train should arrive in any minutes.

"May I have your attention, please? We would like to announce that all departures will have to be postponed due to thick snowfall. Trains bound to arrive at this station will be diverted to another destination. All passengers please refer to customer service department for further inquires. We are very sorry for this difficulty."

"Delayed? Oh, man. Now what?"

He turned around. One of the young sellers was offering him a basketful of sweets and asked, "Would you like to buy some candies, sir?" He grinned at the girl and pointed to a candy stick. "That," he said, "I want eight of them."

"Yes, sir." The child wrapped the candies in simple packaging paper and handed it over to the Author. "Would you like to buy flowers, too, sir?"

"I think that's fine with me."

The girl called one of her colleagues who quickly rushed towards her. Lone Wolf NEO watched at them who was discussing in their mother's tongue and waited. Then the girl put down her backpack and took out what looked like a rose kept inside a plastic box. "This is the only flower we have. Do you want it?"

He nodded and took the flower. "How much all of them?" he asked as he reached for his pocket.

"Sir, for celebrating this year's Christmas we're giving them for free." Lone Wolf NEO stared at the girl strangely due to the word _free_, and she giggled. "Of course you can pay, but that money will be donated to the charity."

"Nice offering, missy," he said and gave her several bank notes. "Take these and donate them."

The girl and her companion giggled and bowed to him. "Thank you very much, sir, and Merry Christmas." They left him and approached a group of passengers, all while Lone Wolf NEO waved to them.

"Merry to you, too."

He looked at the flower he was holding. "I should give this to Hibiki." He shrugged and turned around, taking a return trip to the mansion as he left the railway station. It was an uneasy journey due to the falling snow, and visibility was poor he had to be careful not to stray into the traffic.

He halted near an abandoned building. He kept the parcel inside his trench coat. "So, even I have become the valley's most detested enemy," he uttered when he heard a low-sounding, animalistic growl behind him. Not looking at the source of the growl, he took out a '10 of diamond' card and tossed it to the ground. Instantly an invisible prism cage appeared and locked the author and the 'newcomer' inside it (it also made them invisible to the naked eyes). "It's fortunate I have inter-dimensional cards with me; otherwise this duel would level this city to ground zero."

Cy-Spinosaurus roared. Its synthetic 'sail' glowing in intimidating battle colour, the biomechanical dinosaur deployed arrays of mechanical weapons similar to those of Mecha-Raptor, only more powerful in appearance. Acidic drools dropped from its mouth and disintegrated the pavement upon contact. The biomechanical predator deployed its claws and roared for the second time.

Lone Wolf NEO glanced at Cy-Spinosaurus. "I wonder if the Internet is being sucked dry…" he uttered and withdrew NEO Dagger. He posed a battle stance, lowered himself to the ground and glared at the dinosaur. **"COME ON!"**

Cy-Spinosaurus attacked.

x-x-x-x-x

_// Bougainvillea Brigade //_

Hikki was restless.

Today, it was supposed to be the ice breaking day. He was scheduled to meet the rest of Bougainvillea Brigade after Christmas dinner, and was told to wait for Mariel. Yet there was no sight of her; not even a trace of shadow to be seen.

"I'm sorry for the delay!"

He looked at the source of the voice. It was Mariel, indeed, and she was running down the alley as she approached him. "Am I the only one who begins to like this outcome?" he uttered while the girl repeatedly apologized for being late.

"Well, then," Mariel uttered after finally getting her breath, "shall we?"

Hikki nodded. "Lead the way."

Along the trip to the assembly room, they were engaged in vibrant conversations. All in the while, Mariel would ask him questions like "what do you want for this Christmas?" and "do you like Gingerbread Man? I love it so much," and for the most of the time Hikki could not help but ask himself: "she's so innocent, but… what is she doing in this covert team?" Once in a while they were greeted by Bougainvillea Brigade's personnel and would wave back at them before resuming their trip.

They arrived at the assembly hall. For a special operation unit, Bougainvillea Brigade must surely know things about luxury, Hikki thought as he examined the elaborately carved door. He looked at Mariel, who smiled to him, and opened the door together.

And he was astounded.

There were several children inside the hall, each doing their own business. Hikki was wary; were they the brigade he was told to meet? "Please follow me, Nicky." Hikki obliged and followed Mariel to a couch where two of the children were seated. He took a seat and stared at the two girls. Mariel was seen whispering to one of them, who seemed delighted by what she said.

The blonde-headed girl turned her attention to Hikki. "Hello, Nicky. My name is Illiya," she started conversation. "As the big sister in Bougainvillea Brigade, I welcome you to this team."

The eyeglasses-totting girl who sat beside Illiya gestured a friendly salute. "I'm Nadia. If you need to know anything about this team, just ask me. I'll see if I can help you on that matter."

Hikki warily waved to the two girls. "Err… hello, Illiya, Nadia. Pleased to meet both of you." He, then, turned to a pair of boy and girl sitting on the other couch, the latter serving tea to him. "Who might they be?"

"They're Joan and Flay, the alleged 'brother-and-sister' couple of Bougainvillea Brigade." When Hikki stared at her strangely due to the answer, Illiya laughed silly and pointed to the boy. "For your information, Joan is a girl's name, so don't ask."

"I thought his name is Jean or something like that," Hikki wondered.

"I heard that!" They stared at Joan, who was angrily glowering at Illiya. "And don't ever tell him of that nickname Mother Natalya gave to me!"

Illiya beamed at Joan. "Oh really, momma's boy?"

"YES REALLY!" Joan pounced at Illiya. He missed and got tackled by the busty girl who proceeded to pinch his butt. "Stop harassing me! Where has your manner gone to?!" he yelped. Illiya responded with a slap on his butt, causing him to cry girlishly in distress. Hikki blinked many times, even as the shameless physical treatment scene continued before him.

"Nicky, I presume." Hikki turned his attention to Nadia. She was correcting her eyeglasses as she stared at him, and put down the novel with the title _Arthur_ printed on it. "It's a good name, I reckon, but I feel it lacks the feel of an operative who fears nothing. It wouldn't hurt if we give you a better name, would it?"

"What are you talking of? Madam Natalya gave it to me," Hikki told her. "Is the name Nicky wrong to use?"

"The problem with _that_ name… Nicky," Nadia spoke, as her eyeglasses turned opaque, "first: is it's a bit too soft for you. Second: Mother Natalya didn't tell us you'd be given with that name, and third: you're a boy. How can a boy be given a girl's name?"

Hikki was about to answer the question when a remotely controlled plane flew past his head and encircled the room several times. He heard a girlish laughter coming from the door and looked at the direction of the voice; he saw a girl holding a radio transmitter and controlling the RC plane. "Who is she this time?"

"Oh, for the love of Dimitri," Nadia sighed and stood up. She caught the RC plane as it flew past her head and glowered at the girl who protested at her. "We're in the middle of a conversation and you just come here to fly your plane around? Stop doing it, Kyoko, or I'll have to report your behaviour misconduct to Mother Natalya."

The girl charged at Nadia and tried taking back the RC plane. "Give it back to me! Nadia, please give it back!" Kyoko squealed while jumping to reach the toy. "Give it back!"

"Only if you won't bother us with your gizmos," Nadia insisted, in which Kyoko refused and started arguing. "Oh, so you want to argue over the Internet, huh?" the eyeglasses girl cynically asked.

Hikki could only laugh. "The brigade surely has lots of energy, don't they?" he asked. "I thought all covert operatives are supposed to be secretive and discreet."

"That's not the case, Mister Nicky," Mariel said. "Of course we are covert operation unit, but that doesn't mean we have to act and live like one. There are certain places where we can enjoy living as regular people."

Hikki just nodded. "Oh, okay then." He looked forward and saw the brunette girl serving him and Mariel with tea. "Err… you don't have to do this, Miss Flay."

The owner of the name looked up at him. She smiled and put down the teapot she was holding before bowing to him in respect. "Why not? As a waitress, it is my duty to serve the customers the best I can," she uttered.

Hikki looked even more confused. "This has to be a wrong place for me," he pondered. With Illiya continuing her 'physical examination' on the hapless Joan, and with Nadia and Kyoko arguing over the ownership of the RC plane, he wondered if there would be any place in the brigade for him.

"_Arthur…"_

The argument stopped. Everybody in the brigade stared at Hikki who had strangely recited the name. "I don't know what it was, but somehow that name just rang inside my head." He later smiled and laughed. "Of course, that was because I saw the name on Nadia's book, so…"

"Well, looks like we'll be calling you with that name from now on," Nadia uttered and clapped her hands as to call her team-mates. "Listen up, everyone. Starting today, Nicky will have a new name and that will be Arthur. Does anyone of you agree to disagree?"

"Yaay! Arthur!" Kyoko cheered.

"See? I've told you; Nicky is such a bad name," Illiya uttered and beamed at Joan, who snapped at her teasing gesture.

Flay smiled at the mentioning of the name. "Arthur… so if he is Arthur, we should be his knights, and the brigade as the Round Table," she uttered. Kyoko cheered in agreement at the suggestion and excitedly ran around the room, leaving the frustrated Nadia behind.

Hikki cackled silly. _First, it's Nicky. Then it's Arthur? Next, what will is it going to be? Sun Tzu? William Tell? Yamamoto? Alexander? Beowulf? Argh! This is getting too confusing!_ He turned to Mariel. She, too, smiled. "If everybody here agrees, then I agree. Pleased to meet you, Arthur. Let's do the best from now on," she uttered.

Hikki could only sigh. _Oh, well. Stuffs like this tend to happen out of the blue._

Just then Grandpa entered the room. "Nicky, get your gears ready. You have an assignment to do." The children growled in protest and insisted that he stay and be celebrated. "What's the fuss with all of you? I'm told that Nicky will have his first assignment today, and he is to accomplish it before New Year Eve."

"It's Arthur," Nadia corrected. "Just because Mother Natalya has given him with a name doesn't mean all of us here agree. After all, Nicky sounds too girlish for me."

"And why would you suddenly decide on your own, Missy?" Grandpa replied in a mocking tone.

Nadia glared at the old man. Her eyeglasses turned opaque as she said: "because I can."

"Grandpa, I don't believe Mister-- I mean, Arthur is ready for such assignment," Mariel uttered. "He hasn't undergone proper training yet. If something wrong is to happen to him…"

"Then we'll conduct a crash course," Grandpa said and grinned. "Don't worry; it will end as soon as possible. I know you're very eager to ask him finishing the books inside your room."

Mariel blushed and shyly hid her face. "You already know…"

x-x-x-x-x

Hikki stayed alert. This was his first assignment after admitted into Bougainvillea Brigade, and he didn't complain of its impromptu schedule. For him, an assignment was an assignment and he was certain his colleagues were thinking of the same if they were in his position.

"_Listen up, Arthur,"_ Grandpa's voice was heard through his earpiece (he and the rest of the 'mentors' had agreed to call him with the name as well), _"this assignment will be easy if you know who you're looking for. Assuming you can catch up with the crash course I conducted, you should be able to look after your own back."_

"Understood." He looked at his equipments -- the Beretta handguns clipped on his belt, a flash bang and a dagger, all concealed inside his coat. "Grandpa, are these weapons enough?"

"_They should be,"_ Grandpa replied. _"And I was informed that you were an accomplished martial artist specializing in combined street fight and aikido. Those, combined with the weapon training, won't pose you much trouble."_

"_As a safety precaution, Illiya and Kyoko are with us for backup,"_ he later added. _"Should anything goes against you, notify me and I'll immediately dispatch them."_

"Understood."

"_Arthur,"_ Grandpa said as to end the radio transmission, _"take it easy it, okay? Everybody makes mistake at first try, so don't be frustrated if you can't do well."_

"I…" He paused. Then he continued. "I'll try my best."

"_Good,"_ he replied. _"Terminate all radio frequencies and activate the passive transponder. We can't let them know the brigade's doing this."_

"Understood. Cutting off all radio frequencies."

He did as his mentor told him. He turned off the radio and activated the passive transponder he tucked inside the shirt. After assessing his position, he walked off the wall and headed to the warehouse. His first assignment required him to arrest a drug dealer and bring him to Bougainvillea Headquarters for interrogation. He was told _not_ to resort to any act of aggression unless when provoked; even he did not want to use violence.

He stopped. He looked up. He sighed and took a deep breath. "Here goes."

He opened the sliding door. He entered the warehouse and found himself facing tens of people standing at the middle of the building. Not taking care of them -- except for the drug dealer -- Hikki looked around and saw several armoured vehicles parked next to each other, as well as weapon stashes. _He's no drug dealer,_ he interjected. _He's weapon smuggler! Mother Natalya didn't tell me anything of this!_

"Well, well, well, who might you kid be?" said the drug dealer and signalled his companions to take their position. "You look awfully familiar. Have we met before?"

"I don't think we have, mister," Hikki replied. "But I'm here to take you to custody. So please drop your weapons and follow me."

The answer caused the people to laugh. "Custody? Is that word with _or_ without apostrophes?" the drug dealer mocked and withdrew his Desert Eagle. "You know, business is business and I don't like it when people interfere." So saying he aimed the handgun at Hikki, all while his men withdrew weapons and took aim. "Especially when it's a weak, deranged adolescence without any clear future. That's why I like selling junkies to them. They easily fall for those kinds of stuffs."

Hikki glowered at the drug dealer. "Is that an invitation for your demise?" he uttered with a change of intonation.

"Actually, it's yours," the drug dealer replied. "You look brave and daring, but stupid at the same time. You don't really mind if we have to _cleanse_ you, do you?"

Hikki did not answer. Instead, he armed the concealed flash bang and tossed it at them. It exploded, and the people were blinded by the bright phosphorus flash. Hikki used the chance from the confusion and hid behind a container.

"There he is!"

The gunmen opened fire. Hundreds of 5.45mm and 7.62mm bullets were sprayed at his position. Hikki held his position, while occasionally ducking low to avoid shrapnel. The firing stopped, and Hikki immediately seized the opportunity. He jumped out of cover and fired several headshots at the gunmen. He rolled toward a crate and fired at them from the position.

One of the attackers mounted the Hummers and fired at Hikki's cover with the mounted Browning HMG. Hikki's reaction was faster and he knocked out the attacker with a perfectly aimed shot at his eye. Hikki returned to his current position when two gunmen swung their assault rifles at him, butt-stock aimed at his head. Turning on his feet, Hikki snatched one of them and drove him into the ground. He left the dead man and snatched the other gunman; this time he withdrew his dagger and cut the man's throat with a single swipe.

His body jolted. Hikki looked down and saw blood spot on his abdomen. "What happened to me?" He touched it; there was no pain, and he could not understand why.

Then he looked at the gunmen; one of them was reloading a sniper rifle and aiming it at him. As if on overdrive, he charged at the gunman and prodded the Beretta into his mouth. He pulled the trigger, and the gunman fell dead. He drove the dagger into the dead man's chest and violently shredded the corpse's upper body. He dropped it and glared at the drug dealer, and then at the rest of the gunmen.

"What the hell is he?!"

He tightened his grip on the dagger. His eyes went blank. His face pale, smeared with blood of the dead.

"_Don't… make me…"_

x-x

Illiya and Kyoko rushed to the warehouse. It had been 15 minutes since the transmission ended, and there was no news from Hikki. They were worried; considering the level of difficulty, the mission was supposed to be an easy one. All Hikki had to do was to apprehend the drug dealer and rendezvous with the brigade outside the building, and yet he didn't.

On top of that, the transponder stopped functioning. Something must have gone wrong, they thought. Terribly wrong.

They arrived. They were appalled by what they saw. Illiya covered her nose; the stench of blood and rotting flesh was so sharp she almost vomited. Kyoko turned away, not wanting to see the bloodstained interior, and the sight of Hikki soaking in blood.

"I had to do it…" he was whimpering as he held the dagger tightly in his hand. He later let go off it and frowned. "I had to…"

Illiya assessed the situation. She saw a man hiding in a dark corner in fear, mumbling in low-sounding voice. She approached the man and identified him as the drug dealer Bougainvillea Brigade was asked to apprehend. A karate chop was given to nullify the man, and she brought him to the awaiting special agents. They nodded and headed to a waiting police truck, where several NBC officers scrambled to clean up the mess.

Illiya later approached Hikki. She put a palm on his shoulder; he looked up and stared at her with watery eyes. "I just wanted to defend myself… I didn't know this would happen…" he sobbed uncontrollably. He later broke the eye contact and cupped his face, crying. "What should I do?"

Illiya rested his head upon her shoulder. "It's your first day, of course mistakes were bound to happen," she said and softly soothed him.

"I'm sorry for making the mistakes…" Hikki whimpered. "I couldn't… let them…"

She lifted his head and wiped off the tears. "A big boy mustn't cry in front of me. I don't like it," she said. Hikki forced himself to smile -- and he did, although it was only for a short time before he hid his flushed face. "There. Isn't that better?"

"Yes, I understand." Kyoko lowered the intercom and approached the two operatives. "Arthur, Illiya, the LAV is ready to move. We should rendezvous with it ASAP."

Illiya nodded. She told Kyoko to go and glanced back at Hikki. "You should clean yourself off this mess as soon as we get home. We have a party to do after this," she said. Hikki could only nod, and Illiya asked one of the NBC officers to escort him out of the building. She looked at the new operative for a while before she looked back at the mess. Countless bodies were gathered in one place and decapitated limbs were scattered around. Thousands of cartridges were littering the floor, along with the unmistakable smell of gunpowder. The sight was horrifying, yet Illiya could not help but ask:

"He did this all by himself…?"


	9. Warm Snow

**Heart of Melting Blood  
****The Whistling Gale  
****Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note: **_Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo_ and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. _The Whistling Gale_, the third instalment of the _Heart of Melting Blood_ saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ and TWAAW's Machine Arc ended. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.

**Please read**: yes, I have to return. Sorry for the mess I created. (

**Chapter 8  
****Warm Snow **

The girls glowered. Whether it was of jealousy, anger, amusement or a mixture of the threes no one could tell. Even Reverie, the humanoid worker of the planetarium, was staring at Lone Wolf NEO in sheer curiosity. All because of Elsa Kobayashi, the mysterious girl, who in a sudden appeared in the Author's life and claimed to be his daughter. Even Lone Wolf NEO himself had no idea this shocking revelation would appear to haunt his life. Elsa, on the other hand, seemed to be oblivious of the tense atmosphere as she was happily enjoying the dinner.

"I shouldn't have come here in the first place…" he growled under his breath. Indeed he had his reason to complain; he had forcibly left Hibiki without letting her know why, he was recently plagued with personal problems (he even thought of quitting the job as the Author and handed it to his assistant, which he could not -- this was after he received an omen in his daydream), and many more. "Now what am I going to do? First it was her, now it's this. If she knows…"

x-x

_"Papa!?" _

_The girl smiled. "I've found you, papa!" _

_He stiffened. This had to be the most shocking type of eye-opener ever. Nobody ever told him he would be visited by a woman, let alone informed he had a child. His mind started convoluting, his eyes spun, and his knees weakened. _

_"Oh, great…" _

_He passed out. _

x-x

That was all his memory could recall. Whether it was due to fatigue after wandering at the railway station without adequate rest or due to extreme shock nobody knew, but he certainly freaked the girl out as he lost consciousness and rolled down the stairs. Not only did Elsa quarrel with Mai over who to take responsibility over his blackout, she even insisted to nurse him even when Reverie had the better qualification to examine his health status. What a persistent girl, he thought, she even reminded him of Hibiki. _If only she was here, though._

"Papa."

Lazily he turned around. "What?"

And here, he was greeted with a very bright smile from the girl as Elsa inserted a spoonful of pudding into his mouth. Henrietta and Chise blushed (the thought of getting spoon-fed by their significant ones had a major impact on them and frantically the two girls hid their burning cheeks from sight); Triela frowned in disgust; Mai coughed in silence; Reverie stared deeply at the Author, her eyes blinking many times in awe.

"What was that for?" Lone Wolf NEO demanded in muffled voice.

Elsa giggled. "I thought I want to share this pudding with you, Papa," she said and gave him another spoonful of pudding. "Papa, say _AAA_."

"What is this? Solty Rei?" Triela commented. "And if she calls him papa, then who should be her mother?"

"I don't believe Lone Wolf knows anything about it," Rico told her. "And I don't want to answer that question, Triela."

Triela became dismayed. "But I have the privileges to _know_."

Claes said nothing. She looked out of the window and wondered of how he was doing. As snow fell outside the mansion, echoes of classic song could be heard in the background, and the diners began enjoying the blast of the past. So did Claes, as she nodded to the melodic lyrics of_ Smoke Gets in Your Eyes_.

"Claes, would you kindly pass the wieners over here?"

Claes was startled. "Oh, please forgive me." She reached for the pudding and handed it over to Mai. "Here. It's for you and the child, isn't it?"

Mai looked at her. "Did something happen to you, Claes?"

Claes shook her head. "I don't know, Mrs. Mai. I… I don't know what it is," she uttered.

Triela taunted her. "Oh, come on, Claes! You can't possibly be that nervous to tell her, can you?" she asked in a persuading tone. Claes glowered at the tan-skinned girl. Her sight was as murderous as a lion, and her facial expression was like saying "I want you to watch your mouth or this fork shall find its way onto your forehead". Triela growled at the cold response and shook her head. "What's the matter with you, hmm? You aren't usually like this, are you?"

"Just _shut up_," Claes warned and continued eating her meal.

x-x-x-x-x

Night time. Everybody had fallen asleep; even the energetic Elsa succumbed to the need to doze off, and she was entrusted by Lone Wolf NEO to Claes to be looked after (not only she was grateful, the spectacled girl even offered to read bedtime stories to Elsa, which agitated her). The Author was not sleeping, yet: he was spending the rest of the night sitting in front of the fireplace, thinking of the safety of Mriya.

His solitude was disturbed. Not wanting to look at the troublemaker he kept staring at the hearth and mumbled under his breath. Only after he heard a soft voice mumbling "papa…" did he realize it was Elsa. He looked at her who went to rest her head upon his shoulder and fell asleep, snugly holding up to him. A faint smile carved upon his face, and as silent as he could, he covered her body with wool blanket and positioned her so that she wouldn't slide down to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Lone Wolf. She insists to sleep under your arms." It was Claes, as he noticed.

"Good to see you here, though," Lone Wolf NEO uttered and gestured at the empty sofa next to him. "I'm kind of bored. Let's have a talk."

"What do you want to talk of?" Claes asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe anything. Who knows what the snows outside are up to."

x-x

"Allow me to ask you a question," Lone Wolf NEO spoke as he put down the mug. "I want you to answer it as sincerely as possible. No lying, please. It's for your own benefit."

"No lying? I will." Putting down the eyeglasses, Claes stared at the Author. "What do you want to ask?"

He looked at the sleeping face of Elsa , chuckled and lifted a strand of hair off her cheek. "Why are you so concerned of Hikki?"

Claes blushed. She did not know how to answer, and she certainly did not want to answer. Diverting her gaze to the fire, she said: "is it wrong to think of the deed he had done to me?"

"Maybe. But again, maybe not." He silently coughed and gazed into the fireplace. "It might not be that wrong, but it takes more for someone _like_ you to awe him. It takes a lot of strength just to make your heart adore him."

"What… was that supposed to mean?" Claes interjected.

Lone Wolf NEO glanced at the eyeglasses girl. "You like him… don't you?"

Claes was startled. Her face became redder than before. Distraught, she pouted and clenched the ceramic glass. "Of all questions you could ask, that is the one you expect me to answer? I find it a disgrace!"

"Yeah, yeah. Disgrace. Annoyance. Defiance. Blah, blah, blah. Whatever." Lone Wolf NEO shook his head and gazed emptily into the ceiling. "Sure, go ahead and deny if you want to. It's your choice; I can't force you to say yes. Go figure."

"But he's married, isn't he? And his wife's already bearing his child, so how can I--"

Lone Wolf NEO wagged a finger, telling Claes to lower her voice. "A man can't hide truth no matter how thick the mask of deception he wears. He may not admit it, but that boy's heart is carrying two tragedies… make that three." Pausing for a while to caress Elsa's face, the Author later continued: "I'll take you to the memorial park tomorrow. Hikki's girlfriend is buried there. You should consider all the obstacles he has to go through."

Claes was perplexed. "His… girlfriend?"

"It's a long story," he uttered. "I'll tell you more on that on our visit. I guess… after her, you'll be the first person to hear the tragic story of Hikki Kokurabuji."

"Her? Who is this… _her_?"

Lone Wolf NEO chuckled. "Let's say… it's someone I dearly in love with."

x-x-x-x-x

It was snowy in the cemetery. Elsa was running around, excited by the snow that was covering every inch of the area. She completely ignored the cemetery's sombre atmosphere, even as she waddled through the thick snow, laughing all the way.

"What an energetic girl." Lone Wolf NEO left her with her adventure and turned his attention to the tombstone he and Claes were standing in front of. He knelt down, wiped snows off the stone and gazed into the engraved inscriptions it. Claes stood next to him, watching at the grave in wonder while holding the umbrella to keep her away from falling snow.

"This is my second visit to this place, and yet he didn't even remember to pay her a tribute," Lone Wolf NEO uttered and put flower bouquet on it. "Silly boy. Has he decided to forget all about her?"

"Lone Wolf, who was she? What did she have to do with Hikki?" Claes asked.

The Author sighed. He stood up and gazed at the name carved in big letters. "Her name is Yuu. She was… Hikki's everything. First love, childhood friend, companion, you name it. She was… the first person Hikki ever had the chance to rely on since he travelled to the valley."

"How… is the person, this Yuu?" Claes asked.

"She was shy, always nervous whenever a guy approached her, and she was quite friendly." Lone Wolf NEO chuckled and continued on. "She was _practically_ the only person to have faith on him when nobody else around him did. For her, she did not care who he was or what he was, as long as she had the chance to stay by his side. Love is blind, isn't it?

"I had this opportunity to have conversation with her when I visited her home village, and guess what she said?"

Claes shook her head. "I don't know. What did she tell you?"

"_'If I were given the chance to tell a wish, I would ask the genie in bottle to give me strength to confess my feeling toward him._' When she said that…" Lone Wolf NEO sighed and gazed up at the snowy sky. "I could already tell from her eyes she was very serious. I just never thought she would go as far as sacrificing her own body and soul. Poor girl; she never got what she deserved to, and yet she never complained of it."

Claes was appalled by the word _sacrificing_. She had dealt with people complaining of dying, death and such, but _sacrificing?_ It was a new issue to her. "So, Lone Wolf, after she… passed away, what happened to him?" she asked, daring not to know what encouraged Yuu to make the ultimate sacrifice.

"He continued being an ignorant, care-for-none man," Lone Wolf NEO spoke. "That is, until fate united his path with Mai's. Yet, even the encounter didn't go well; Hikki had to… give away his sanity for the sake of his power. He was pained, twisted, deranged, vengeful, and yet… he acted as if nothing in this world could affect him."

"The way you speak about him… is like you know absolutely everything about him," Claes uttered and knelt in front of the tombstone, wiping off a layer of snow. "What does he have to do with you? What kind of relationship both of you has?"

"I don't know," jokingly the Author replied. "Maybe you can call us father and son, but we aren't biologically related." He later looked at his wristwatch and shrugged. "I guess it's time."

"Papa!"

He looked at Elsa. She was waving to him as she stood beside a snowman. "I just made a snowman! I can be a great snowman maker, right?" she asked. He grinned at the girl and approached her, while Claes followed him closely behind, and patted her head. "Papa! You're messing my hair with snow; stop it!" she pleaded.

"Elsa, be a good girl and don't do anything bad, okay?" he asked.

Elsa stopped mumbling and looked up at her. So did Claes, as the girl asked: "are you going somewhere, Papa/Lone Wolf?"

"Unfortunately, girls, the answer is going to be _yes_." The answer caused Elsa to pout and angrily she clung onto him, never letting him go. "It will not be long. I'll be back at the mansion when spring arrives. Make that summer; it might take longer than I have expected."

"I thought I could spend the whole winter with you, Papa…" Elsa mumbled.

Lone Wolf NEO chuckled. He knelt down and stared into her lavender eyes. "I know, Elsa, I know. Sure, it sounds weird when you call me 'Papa' out of sudden, but it can't be that wrong, can it?"

Elsa pouted. "But Papa, I want to be with you…"

"You've got Claes with you. I know; you can even befriend Henrietta and the rest of the girls," Lone Wolf NEO told her. "If Claes agrees to look after you for me."

Elsa looked at Claes. Then back at Lone Wolf NEO. The twos were smiling at her. "If you can promise me one thing, Papa, I will listen to all your words." Lone Wolf NEO laughed and pinched her cheeks, playfully pulling them. _"Fafa, flis stof it! I veg of yu!"__ ("Papa, please stop it! I beg of you!")_

"What promise you want me to make, hmm?" he said after letting go off her cheeks, and was instantly tossed by a handful of snowballs. "Hey! I didn't even prepare for that!" he shouted.

"Serve you right, Papa!" Elsa interjected and tossed another set of snowballs. "I will let you go after you promise to play snowball game with me!"

Lone Wolf NEO laughed. "So that's what you want me to promise? Okay, then!" So saying he made a set of snowballs and tossed each of them at the red-clothed girl. Claes laughed, too, as she made her own set of snowballs, and before long the threes were engaged in snowball war. It was a one-sided war as Claes joined Elsa's cause and together fought the shocked yet amused Author. He counterattacked with specialized snowball cannons and the girls would cry foul at the cheat he used and counterattacked with snow rockets. The fight continued to the afternoon, and only after undertakers arrived did they stop the game. They laughed at each other, bodies covered in thick, wet snows, and cleaned the mess before headed home.

They separated as they reached a T-junction; Claes and Elsa headed to the mansion while Lone Wolf NEO took the opposite path. Elsa bad the Author farewell by giving him a tight embrace, as if wanting to stay close to him for a little bit more. Then she let go off him and reluctantly went back to Claes. "Be careful on your trip, Papa," she said.

"I will. And I promise you, you'll be the first person to greet me home, Elsa," Lone Wolf NEO told her. Elsa smiled brightly and smiled to say 'I will!'. "Well, then, our meeting ends here. Send my regards to all the girls, okay Claes?"

Claes nodded. "We will. Lone Wolf?"

The Author turned around. He saw Claes smiling to him. "Yes, Claes?"

"I don't know how I should pay your deed in return," she spoke, "but I had a great time talking with you last night. Thank you."

Lone Wolf NEO grinned. He waved a salute and walked down the road, all while Elsa waved to him from faraway. Only after the Author disappeared from sight did they head home. Yet it was only for a while when Elsa halted and looked back at the empty road.

"What's the matter, Elsa?" Claes asked.

"The time has come." Her voice suddenly became monotonous, and as she stared at Claes the girl's eyes was as calm as a trained assassin. "You have met Bougainvillea Brigade, haven't you... Frieda Claes Johansson?"

Claes was startled. How did Elsa know she had met Bougainvillea Brigade? And how did she know her full name?

"Please, Claes, answer my question," Elsa insisted, "have you met them?"

Things could not get any more unanticipated for Claes.

Giuseppe, Hillshire and Jean happened to walk down the road when they stumbled across the girls. The first question they asked was, "Claes? What are you doing in Kiev?"

Claes was even more surprised. "Jose! Hillshire! Jean! What are the three of you doing here?" she asked back.

Giuseppe saw Elsa standing several feet behind Claes, who was bowing respectfully to them. "Jean, I think that girl is the middleman we're told to meet," he uttered.

The blonde-headed man looked at the girl. "Yes, there can be no one else," he nodded.

"She looks a lot younger than I thought," Hillshire spoke.

By now, Claes' curiosity reached the point of no return. "What's the meaning of all this? Why are you in Kiev without telling us firsthand? And Elsa, what's the meaning of the question? What do you know about the brigade?" she demanded. "And how did you know my name? My full name?"

Elsa looked at the eyeglasses girl. Then at the three gentlemen. She coughed and corrected her red blouse. "Everyone, it would be advisable if we first return to the Falken Mansion. I cannot guarantee our safety if we proceed with our business at this place." So saying she walked forward and past the group as she headed to the mansion. She halted after noticing that they were not following her lead, and she frowned at their failure to cooperate.

_"Please, everyone. I will not tolerate those without commitment toward the meeting." _

**The Plot Thickens... **


	10. Reunion

**Heart of Melting Blood  
The Whistling Gale  
Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note: **_Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo_ and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. _The Whistling Gale_, the third instalment of the _Heart of Melting Blood_ saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ and TWAAW's Machine Arc ended. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.

**Chapter 9  
Reunion**

The reunion had been, rather, uneasy.

Henrietta, Triela and Rico stared at their respective handlers. Awed, confused, irked and intrigued, the three of them wondered of what the men they respected so much were doing in Kiev. Triela, especially, was glowering at Hillshire in a cocktail of emotion: she was angry as she was delighted (Hillshire was seated _next_ to her, causing her sensation to stir up). There was not a single word that could help her, or the rest of the girls, expressing their thoughts regarding the _reunion_.

Simply put, they were happy they got to see their handlers again.

The men, on the other hands, were not so pleased. One of the questions they were asking right now was "what are the girls doing here?" and there without doubt were a lot of questions they needed to answer.

"_Anou_, Jose-_san_…"

Their thoughts were suspended. One of them, Giuseppe, glanced at Henrietta. He smiled at the sight of the girl shyly smiling to him, and he certainly smiled to himself by now. "You're happy to see me here, aren't you Henrietta?"

The said girl blushed as she smiled. _"Si."_

"You know, this is the first time I've ever been in Kiev," Jean said and took a sip of the hot cocoa. "I'm wondering if Chief Lorenzo ever got the information right."

"I know not," Hillshire said and glanced at Triela. She was glowering at him before she turned away from him in disgust. "Look. Just because I'm here doesn't mean I'm _happy_ to see you here."

"So says the man," Triela replied. Hillshire told her to behave. Triela ignored it and started taunting Hillshire. Hillshire snapped in anger and yelled at Triela. Triela insisted him to sit down and behave.

The red-clothed girl arrived, promptly bringing the argument to a halt. "Forgive me for the lack of proper accommodation," Elsa uttered and took seat on one of the couches. "This is the safest place all of us can afford of. If there's anything any of you want to argue, let's keep it aside until we're done with this briefing."

"Briefing? What? We're going to have another dirty work?" Triela asked and was instantaneously signalled by Hillshire to keep quiet. "Oh. I suppose it isn't that _dirty_ after all."

"Triela, please, it might be an important mission briefing," Giuseppe reminded. "Miss Kobayashi, I presume--"

"Please, just call me Elsa," Elsa said. "I find the usage of official suffix unpleasant."

"Oh, I guess it's alright to call you Elsa from now on." Elsa just smiled at the suggestion Giuseppe was saying. "Anyway, we were told by our chief to meet someone in Kiev regarding a top-secret mission. Assuming that person is you, can we proceed with the briefing, Elsa?"

"As you wish, sir." After clearing her throat, Elsa began the briefing. "As you may have briefed on by your superior, the Italian mafia is cooperating with Russian underground movement on drug trafficking and weapon smuggling deal. They're using Ukraine as their business hub to export goods to neighbouring countries, especially the territory in conflict Chechnya, and allegedly have many contacts with local crime lords and foreign warlords."

"What a threat," Triela commented.

"Now, the reason why Social Welfare Agency is assigned with this mission is that some of the names involved with this… _illegal_ transaction include several Italian politicians and top military commanders who seek for absolute power," Elsa continued. "Your task is to identify the names and study the level of threat they may impose to your country."

"Then what must we do once we identify them?" Jean asked.

"Your next objective is to eliminate them and fabricate a case to cover their assassination," Elsa answered. "Of course, since this mission is to be done away from the supervising of your government, and to be done in foreign country, precaution steps must be taken to avoid needless confrontation with local authorities."

"Is there anything we can do about it? What is your suggestion, then, Elsa?" Giuseppe asked.

"I expect the kind of question to be asked." She handed out several documents to the agents and asked them to read thoroughly. "This case is supposed to be taken by you people alone, but I'm informed that the Ukrainian government has agreed to cooperate, since this case may -- or may not -- threaten their national security."

"An international cooperation, I like this idea," Jean said (Rico was staring at him in utter interest, all while eating sponge cakes prepared by mother-to-be Mai). "What do you think, Jose, Hillshire?"

"If I may ask," Hillshire uttered and put down the documents. "Are we going undercover again? I can see that this mission's profile is going to be highly classified."

"Do we really have to?" Triela asked. "Oh, this is going to be one boring job. Why can't we ever have a break for good?"

"Stop complaining. We have a work to do," Hillshire said, not looking at her.

Triela pouted. "You're not even funny…"

"As long as we're fine with them, it's okay, I think," Giuseppe said. "By the way, Elsa, is there anything you can tell us about Ukrainian government's agreement to cooperate? There was nothing we were informed regarding it." Henrietta glared at her handler in jealousy; the fact that he _was_ talking to Elsa was unpleasant, and she growled as a sign of protest.

Elsa nodded. "Yes, it is. Since they, too, have so many internal problems to tackle with, they have assigned their special operation division to help us with the case."

"You mean Bougainvillea Brigade?"

Elsa gaped. So did Henrietta, Rico, Triela, Giuseppe, Hillshire and Jean. All were looking at the anxious, if not troubled Claes. She realized she was being stared at and frowned, clenching her hands very tightly. "I'm sorry, but… I had met them. The rest of us also had. It was… an unpleasant encounter for all of us."

"Claes…" Triela could do nothing about it.

"The truth is…" Claes uttered. "The truth is… we were here because we thought we could pay visit to Hikki and his family. We thought…" Then, unknowingly she cried and buried her face in her palms. "We thought we could make friends with him and…"

"Hey! Claes, take it easy," Hillshire told her. "What's the matter with you?"

"But I can't!" Her weeps became more sombre, and her fellows could only stare at her in sympathy. "He suffered a lot just to protect me from the assailants… and yet they told me not to talk about it? How can I ever shut myself up when someone was dying right _before my eyes_? How can I?"

"What's going on here? Who is this Hikki she's talking of?" Giuseppe demanded.

"Jose-_san_… it's a complicated story…" Henrietta replied.

Elsa kept staring at the eyeglasses girl. She nodded to herself and closed her eyes. "I understand. Claes, you really are worried of him, are you not?" In watery eyes, Claes stared at Elsa who was calmly smiling to her. "Have no worry. Although they didn't tell you much, Hikki is alright. I'm sure he'll he very happy to see you again."

"Elsa, how did you… know?"

"Oh, yes!" In a sudden, her mood changed as she clasped her hands and cheerfully smiled. "Papa told me you had the invitation card. If that so, why don't we pay them a visit?" The men stared at her strangely in wonder, and realizing she was observed, childishly Elsa giggled and apologized. "I'm so sorry, but Papa isn't here. I thought I could introduce him to all of you."

"And pester him with your spoon-feeding," Triela interjected and got elbowed by Hillshire. "Hey! Watch what you're doing, Hun."

"And stop calling me that," Hillshire demanded.

"I won't. And did I forget to tell you that you didn't bring me any Christmas present?" Triela replied, a tad looking angry at her handler. "You forgot, and I'm so mad at you."

Giuseppe, on the other hand, had a good time laughing. "Papa? I'm sure your handler isn't immune to excessive praises," he uttered.

Henrietta giggled at the comment. "You don't really want to know, Jose-_san_."

"Well, then, I guess that's all for today's briefing," Elsa said and packed up. "Oh, yes, before I forget, both the Social Welfare Agency and Bougainvillea Brigade are scheduled to meet at Odessa Seaside Café in the next 60 hours. We should move to Odessa as soon as possible to avoid unwanted difficulties. I will take care of the welfares of Mai, Reverie and Chise here, in the meantime."

Triela protested. "What? 60 hours? Why can't we go right now? I don't want to be locked up here any longer."

"Triela, we should first settle our personal matters before proceeding with the main mission," Elsa uttered and closed the luggage. "Like… going out for a dinner, for example?"

Triela and Henrietta blushed. Hillshire growled in disgust, while Giuseppe heartily laughed. Rico said nothing, as so did Jean (although the latter seemed to approve of the 'dinner' idea). Elsa giggled at the operatives' reaction and excused herself to leave. Just when she walked up the stairs, Claes called her and Elsa halted to see the spectacled girl looking up at her. "Yes?"

After a long period of silence, Claes opened her mouth. "What's your role in this mission?"

Claes closed her eyes. "I'm merely a middleman and a negotiator. I'm prohibited from taking further actions without permissions from… the superior council." She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "Claes?"

"Yes, Elsa?"

"Will you… accompany me for tonight?" Here, she shyly giggled and played with strands of her hair. "Papa isn't going to be home for quite a long time, and I don't like being left alone. So… I was thinking…"

This time, Claes smiled. Leaving her colleagues with her handlers (and to Mai, Chise and Reverie whom the planetarium worker was introducing to) she approached Elsa and took her hands, softly clenching it. She smiled to the girl who returned the smile. "Sure. After all, Lone Wolf doesn't want to see you spending time here alone. Right?"

"Yes," Elsa replied, blushing at the same time.

x-x-x-x-x

It was another two hours before midnight. Today, the handlers were accommodating in nearby motels, while the girls stayed at Falken Mansion. It was recommended by Elsa that the handlers and the children assassin were prohibited from living under one roof 'for security reason', despite Triela's insistence to let them stay in Falken Mansion for the night. When Elsa said "so that you can bully and dominate your handler? I suggest that you wait," Triela snapped in anger and chased the girl around the mansion (it was ended only when Mai and Reverie interfered, and Triela demanded them to hand over the _pest_ to be given severe conditioning. "Damn it! Nobody dares mocking me like that!").

Henrietta was seated near the desk. Her fingers were fiddling with the felt-tip pen, trying to figure out what to write inside the diary. She was, of course, overwhelmed by Giuseppe's presence and wanted to write down _everything_ she was feeling inside the pages. Her fellows were indulged in their own activity: Triela was counting the neatly arranged teddy bears inside the room's glass cabinet; Chise was donning her nightgown; Rico was sitting next to the window, staring into the moonless sky. Claes and Elsa were at the kitchen, helping Reverie with the dishes. She looked at them, got an inspiration and began writing inside the diary.

The diary was snatched. Henrietta was startled and tried retrieving the book from Triela. "Say, is this your new pastime?" she asked and lifted the book, only to encourage Henrietta to reach higher. "Ow, come on! Let me read it for you, okay?"

"Triela, give it back to me!" Henrietta begged.

Triela ignored the red-haired girl and began reading one of the entries. _"Dear diary. Today, we are reunited with our handlers, and I'm so happy to finally meet Jose-san again. How surprised I am when I saw him entering this mansion with Jean-san and Hillshire-san. I…"_

"Triela!" Finally Henrietta reclaimed the diary she prized so much and ran away from Triela. "_Mou_… you're not supposed to read somebody else's diary," she mumbled and held the book tightly between her arms.

A sinister grin carved upon her face, as Triela prepared to pounce at Henrietta. "Oh, you're not going to hide it from me, are you?" she uttered and made a 'crouching tiger' pose. Henrietta squealed when Triela leapt at her and dodged the tackle. Triela chased Henrietta around the room and accidentally collided with Chise. The 'super weapon' girl squealed in surprise and threw the pillow she was holding; it missed and found its way into Rico's face.

"Aw, I missed!" Chise mumbled and got hit by another pillow thrown by Rico. She snapped at Rico, who was laughing at her, and charged -- only to find herself stumbling across Henrietta. Both the girls collided and rolled on the floor; Triela seized the opportunity from the confusion and grabbed Henrietta. The red-haired girl cried in distress and tried fleeing Triela's _questionable_ embrace. Rico took the chance and bombarded the girls with more pillows. At first angry with the interference, Triela laughed as she took the pillow and tossed it back at Rico. Before long they were engaged in an exciting game of pillow war, trying to outdo each other with pillow and cushions.

"Well, well, well. You people are having fun without waiting for us, eh?"

The mayhem stopped. Henrietta, Triela, Rico and Chise looked at the door and saw Claes and Elsa walking into the room. The twos looked awfully identical in the lavender nightgowns, save that Claes was wearing her trustworthy eyeglasses whereas Elsa had her hair tied with purple ribbon.

"Elsa-_chan_! Let's play!" Henrietta said and got buried in pillows tossed by Chise and Rico. "WAAA! Somebody please help!"

Claes giggled at the invitation. Putting her hands on Elsa's shoulders, she told the girls Elsa could not accompany them for the night. "I made a promise to read a bedtime story to her, so the pillow-fight? Elsa can wait until tomorrow." Henrietta and Chise protested and insisted that Elsa stay. Triela gave Claes an "O RLY" look before Claes replied with the 'opaque eyeglasses' glare. _"Don't start it."_

"Can I join them, Claes?" Elsa asked.

"Well, I suppose you can," Claes said and corrected her eyeglasses. "But remember to go to bed early. You did promise to wake up early and go shopping with me, didn't you?"

"Aw, lookie. Our Claes has become a nanny already," Triela teased. This was replied by a sharp glare by Elsa as she possessively wrapped her arms about Claes (the spectacled girl was surprised by the sudden action Elsa took, although she had nothing to complain). "HEY! What do you think you're doing, Elsa?"

"Nobody can tease Claes," Elsa said and clung onto Claes like a little girl holding onto her 'big sister'. "Not even you, not even your friends, not even Papa. Claes belongs to me."

Henrietta and Chise suddenly blushed at the declaration. Rico stared at Elsa in a very deep sense of intrigue (or was it of envy? Nobody exactky knew). Claes laughingly sighed in surrender at the possessiveness of the girl.

As predicted, Triela snapped in fury. "What the-- HEY! First you act like you're from the Interpol or something. Now you're acting like some spoiled girl who doesn't want to let her _oneechan_ go!" she exclaimed. "Are you trying to provoke me, Elsa?"

"No," Elsa said and emphasized it by sticking out her tongue. "Why would I want to provoke you, Triela? Oh, that's right." Again, she tightened her arms and held closer onto Claes. _"Because I can."_

Triela lost her temper and shook her fist at the girl. "Damn it! Elsa, don't try me!"

Claes laughed and let loose of Elsa's arms. "Now, now, Elsa. Be a good girl and don't do anything bad, okay?" she reminded with a smile. "I'll be at Mai's room if you need anything."

"Okay, Claes!" Elsa gave her a big hug and joined the pillow fight. She stopped near Triela and inexplicably tickled her on the waist, before taking cover from the infuriated girl behind the amused Rico. Claes laughed at the cheerful atmosphere Elsa was creating and proceeded to leave the room.

Just as she was headed to Mai's room, she halted and leaned against the wall. She sighed in relief; to know that Hikki was alright was enough for her. She could only hope to meet him in person -- and personally thank him for saving her life. She could only wonder of how he was doing at the moment.

"KYAA! Elsa-_chan, yamete_!"

Claes giggled. "What is she up to, I wonder…" Deciding to join in the mess, Claes reentered the room. "Alright, girls. We need to stop playing. Elsa needs to take early nap, and so will the rest of you."

"Aw! But we want to play with Elsa-_chan_ a bit longer!" Henrietta and Claes objected.

**Note:**_Bougainvillea Arc_ will be temporarily on hold to allow _Feathers Arc_ to commence. Oh, Sheo. Oops?


	11. We Are Travellers

**Heart of Melting Blood  
The Whistling Gale  
Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note: **_Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo_ and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. _The Whistling Gale_, the third instalment of the _Heart of Melting Blood_ saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in _Legend of the Moonlight_ and TWAAW's Machine Edina Arc ended. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.

**Chapter 10  
We Are Travellers**

"_Where am I?" asked Shen._

_He found himself floating inside a sea, suspended inanimately in the element of liquid matter. He was alone, accompanied by no one or nothing. Whether this was merely a part of the travel he and the group were taking, he could not tell, yet he knew one thing for sure:_

"_Where is Miss Mriya?!"_

_Frantically he looked around. He saw her, floating helplessly not far from the surface. Shen swam up towards her, struggling to move through the uncharacteristically heavy water. He could care less of his safety; it was she he was more worried of. He would rather die than to let anything approach her and do her any harm._

_Then a giant sea snake appeared. The aquatic creature encircled Shen for a while before it screeched and attacked him. Shen evaded its initial attack, but was hit by the sea snake's powerful tail slam and sent flying out of the sea. He fell back and was caught by the sea snake; the aquatic predator displayed its ferocious array of teeth and squeezed Shen tightly between its coil, and he was choking for air._

_Something rammed the sea snake. It was so strong it forced the sea snake to let go off its prey. Shen was sinking toward the bottom of the sea, unsure of what had happened just now, until he saw the silhouette of a great white shark swimming past him. He felt a fast vortex rotating around him that kept him suspended in the water; the same vortex was preventing Mriya from sinking deeper into the abyss. _

_Then he watched, in complete amazement, how the great white battled the giant sea snake and won the battle by crunching the serpent's body, instantly killing its opponent. The great white devoured the now-dead snake and approached Shen in a cautious manner. He was caught in fear: was the sea snake not enough to satisfy its appetite? Was it going to eat him as well?_

_The great white shark, inexplicably, halted. It stared at Shen for a long time, as if it was conveying him a message. Shen returned stare at the battle-hardened great white shark, body full of scars and wounds, and instead of fear, he was now inquisitive. _

"_What… do you want from me?"_

_Slowly he approached the great white and reached for its snout when he suddenly choked. _

_He forgot he was still inside the sea!_

_Shen struggled to get back to the sea surface. It was a fruitless attempt as he twitched and became paralyzed; now he descended to the deep blue, unable to save himself, unable to save Mriya._

_He drowned._

x-x-x-x-x

Shen opened his eyes.

He was no longer inside the sea. He looked around and found himself lying on a deserted street. He looked upward and was greeted by Mokona and Negi who were looking down at him. "Oh, dear… it was only a dream…" His head felt dizzy, as if he had been sleeping for a whole day. Groaning in low voice, he sat upright and shook his head. "Where are we?"

"It seems we have arrived at a place strange to us," Negi answered. Mokona agreed and excitedly jumped around the area.

"Strange?" He looked around and saw Mriya lying next to Negi. Quickly he approached her and gathered her in his arms. "Are you alright, Miss Mriya?" She said nothing to answer; she was too deeply in sleep to notice him asking. He held her and noticed that neither he nor she was drenched in sea water. "How did we get here?"

"Oh, you mean how did the portal send us here?" Negi asked. "I don't know what happened, but Mokona told us this might be the place."

"This place?" Shen observed the area; from the environment, he was guessing they had arrived in an abandoned city, far from any civilization. He lifted Mriya in her arms, stood up and shrugged dust off his body. "I don't really quite understand, but we should find somewhere to stay."

He looked around again and noticed something missing. "Where is the red-haired man?"

The question was answered by a deafening roar as Iori re-emerged from inside ruins. "GAH! Where is that stupid creature?!" he screamed and spat a mouthful of dirt. He saw Mokona jumping around in joy and chased after the fluffy white creature. "Hey! Meat bun! Come back here! Why can't you be more careful in sending us out of that portal?"

"_Iyaa_… Mister Red-Haired is scary!" Mokona mocked and hid behind Negi's back. "Please help me!"

Iori snapped at the taunt Mokona was making and shook his fist in anger. "Don't try making me, meat bun!"

"WAAI! He called me meat bun!" excitedly Mokona cheered, much to Iori's dismayed fury.

"Hey! Hey, you guys!"

The group looked at the source of the voice. A girl was shouting at them, and she looked distressed. "Hey! You must leave this place right now! It's too dangerous!"

"What is she talking about?" This was answered when a flash bang exploded near the group. It was not fatal but the detonation was sufficient enough to send them running from the area. "Damn! Is this a battleground or something?" Iori exclaimed as they hid behind remains of a wall.

"Thank goodness you people are alright," the girl said as she met up with them. "It's too dangerous for strangers to be in this place--" Her voice was drowned when more explosions trembled across the coastal area, and she had to shout. "Because this is a battlefield!"

"Who the hell are you?" Iori demanded. "And what kind of people would go and have a war at this place?"

"I'm Higurashi Akane!" the girl replied. "And I can't answer that question, sir! Not before we leave this place in one piece! Look over there!" The group looked at where she was pointing. From the two sides of the horizon, came two troopers fully equipped for combat. "This is going to be a hectic day for everyone here."

"Who the hell are they?" Iori asked.

"They're two of the strongest clans in Jezebel Town," Akane replied. "The group to the left is led by Captain Kuga Natsuki, while the group to the right is under the command of Mistress Nao Yuuki." At the same time, the two formations halted and their leaders walked forward, facing each other in a tensed up silence. "They're here as a part of the agreement."

"Agreement?" Negi asked.

Akane nodded. "Since the municipal council issued the law that prohibits the usage of Avatar in Fighting in Built-Up Areas four months ago, they have to settle their disputes somewhere else, and this is only one of such places."

The clan leaders undid their cloaks, revealing themselves as women. The group was astounded, but not Akane and Mokona.

"WAAAA! Kuga-_sama_ is so charming!" Akane exclaimed.

"She's pretty!" Mokona cheered.

The said woman (donning racing gear complete with goggles and armed with dual Magnums) signalled at her comrades to take position behind the ruins, while the other person (she was wearing regular schoolgirl uniform and equipped with metal claws) grinned and wagged a finger at her opponent.

"Oh! Looks like Nao-_sama_ is up with something!" Akane later added.

The two women, then, summoned creatures from nowhere and assumed battle stance. Their followers whistled in approval at their leaders, and the group became ever more curious. "Kuga-_sama_ and Nao-_sama_ are famous for their strong Avatars. Too bad they always disagree with each other, because they could use their ability to help developing the city we're living in," Akane explained.

"That woman's using a wolf as her familiar, while the other one uses a half-human female spider," Negi spoke. "They look strong. Not many people can summon a familiar with that tremendous strength display."

"_Doki!"_ Mokona pointed at Negi. The group looked at him, who stared back at them with a puzzled look on his face. "He has the feather!" Mokona declared.

"Uh… what? What?" Only after Iori took the feather from his cloth did he realize what Mokona was excited of. "That's strange. How did that feather get to me?"

"I have no idea, but," Iori uttered and examined the feather, "if this is what and why we are here, I suggest that we keep an eye of things similar to this." He, then, handed over the feather to Shen. "Here. I think you might--"

An energy bomb exploded near the wall. The battle had started! It took the sheltering group by surprise and Iori accidentally let go off the feather. "No!" Shen ran after the feather (Mriya was left to Iori to look after) and the chase brought him to the middle of the battleground. Without taking care of the chaos or energy projectiles that were flying across the battleground, Shen pursued the feather and managed to capture it before it flew out of reach.

The newcomer was, certainly, distracting the battlers. "What the hell is that man doing?" Nao interjected. Natsuki stopped controlling her Avatar and ordered her followers to stop firing. "He isn't from this region. What is he doing here?" she spoke.

"To hell with that!" So saying Nao ordered her minions to open fire. In an instant, thousands of energy-based missiles found their way toward the unwary Shen. He saw the attacks coming but was in no position to escape or defend. He could only proceed to cover the feather and crouched to minimize damage he might take when the missiles hit.

"Sir!"

The projectiles exploded -- _before_ it ever got him. Shen discarded off his cover and watched the smoke that dissipated several feet in front of him.

And he was startled.

It was here. Again.

The great white shark -- he recognized the creature (or rather, its apparition) as the one he encountered in the dream. The tell-tale battle scars and wounds proved him right; it was the same beast that saved him from the giant sea snake. He was astounded, and so did his partners and the battling clans.

"That's the Avatar of the Seven Seas!" Akane exclaimed. "How did he get it?"

"He has a familiar, too?" Negi uttered.

"One of the strongest Avatars in this world!" both Natsuki and Nao shouted aloud.

"_Master…"_

The voice rang inside his head. Shen could have sworn he was hallucinating, yet the voice was too real to be a dream. He stared at the great white, and realized it was _speaking_ to him.

"What do you want from me?"

"_Master, allow me to serve you. Allow me to become your defender."_

He was not sure what the apparition was talking of, but Shen nodded to answer 'yes'. Slowly he stood up, clenching the piece of feather tightly, and stared at the soldiers. "Then please help me retrieving Miss Mriya's feathers. I'm depending on you."

"_Your wish is my command, Master."_

He eased his stance. He took a deep breath. Then he glanced at Nao and her clan. "I don't know what business you have here," Shen spoke, "but please leave us unharmed. We aren't intending to provoke you." The Avatar did the same, glowering deeply at the people, as if ready to pounce at them.

"What? You're telling me not to harm you?!" Nao interjected and fired a ball of dark energy. Shen's Avatar summoned a shield and deflected the projectile back at Nao; she was forced to materialize an energy shield to protect her from the projectile. "Ah! It's too strong! Everybody retreat!" She fled, and so did her clan members.

Shen turned his attention to Natsuki. The satin-haired woman stared at him for a long time, as did her followers who were ready with their weapons. He was ready should his _adversary_ provoke him with act of aggression.

"I never thought to see someone summoning the Avatar of the Seven Seas that easily," Natsuki uttered and lowered her weapons. "State out your name, stranger, and the reason you are here."

"My name is Shen, and I come here to retrieve something important," Shen replied.

"Ah, I see," Natsuki replied with a grin. "That's why I saw you chasing something down here. It must be very precious to you, isn't it?" Shen and the Avatar glowered at Natsuki, long enough to make her Avatar growl defensively. "Oh, I see. You don't want anyone to interfere with your… responsibility, I can see that."

She waved him a salute, said "until we meet again, Mister Shen," and turned to her followers. After saying a couple of words to them, she led them as the clan walked away from the battlefield and disappeared.

"Sir!" He turned around and saw Akane and the rest of the group running toward him; Iori was struggling to piggyback Mriya as he followed the worried Negi. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm alright," he replied and looked at the feather piece he was holding. "This is just one of many feathers we're going to look for."

"You're so amazing, sir!" Akane exclaimed (and Mokona cheered to emphasize it). "How did you get to summon _Daimaou_? And where did you acquire such willpower to do that?"

"WAAI! Shen is wonderful!" Mokona cried out.

Shen shrugged. He stared at the great white shark that nodded and turned into a ball of light, which then entered his body. It was warm as the orb became one with his inner force, and he did not feel any complication from the assimilation.

He later proceeded to glance at Mriya. He sighed in relief to know that she was unharmed in the ensuing chaos. "I highly thank you for looking after her," he thanked Iori. "I couldn't possibly protect Miss Mriya while saving the feather at the same time"

Iori snorted. "Don't even say it," he insisted and looked at the Ukrainian woman. "I got this feeling I had met her before. I just don't know when."

"Well, I'm glad everyone's alright," Akane uttered. "But we have to leave this place. It's unsuitable for travellers like you. I suggest looking for somewhere to stay at nearby town."

"Sounds good to me," Negi replied.

"Well, then. I should be going, everyone. Oh, I forgot to ask your names," Akane spoke.

"I'm Negi Springfield," Negi answered.

Shen sported a Chinese honorary gesture. "Shen."

"Yagami Iori," Iori was the last to spoke. "And the woman here is…"

"Mriya," Shen spoke. "Mriya… Falken."

"Okay, Mriya," Iori replied and nodded.

"I'm very much pleased to meet the three of you, Shen-_san_, Negi-_kun_, and Yagami-_san. Sore ja_." Akane bowed to them and ran down the road. The group waved to her before they looked at each other.

"Well? What's next?" Negi asked. "We're already at this place, so where we should be going now?"

"I know not," Shen uttered and looked at his palm. "But the girl is right. We should find somewhere to stay before night falls."

"Yo."

They looked at the voice. They saw a red-haired woman in archaeologist outfit waving to them not far from the road they were going to take. "Now what?" Iori chided.

"Need somewhere to lodge in?"

x-x-x-x-x

Shen stared at her. So did Negi and Iori -- save for Mokona who ignored the tense atmosphere and flew around Mriya instead (the unconscious woman was lying on a couch in the house's living room). The red-haired girl mysteriously invited them to stay at her lodge just outside Jezebel Town, and she approached them as if she had known them for some times. Questions arose: _who is she, and what does she want from them?_

"I guess I should make the introduction quick and explicable," the girl uttered and corrected her vest. "My name is Sugiura Midori, and this is my house a.k.a. Gakuten Rangers headquarters. I was informed prior to your arrival, and at such have the responsibility to look after your welfare until you're done with this place." She, then, pointed to her face and winked. "I shall help you anyway I can."

Negi lifted his hand. "_Anou_, I didn't remember anything about… your kindly help. Who told you about us?"

Midori stared at him. "I thought that woman told you about us. Let's see… the Dimension Sorceress, if only I could recall her name…" She later laughed and clasped her hands. "Anyway, since I'm done with my intro, I'd like to hear your names."

"Shen," Shen replied.

"Yagami Iori," Iori uttered.

"Negi Springfield," the Welsh mage said.

"Mokona is here, _doki-doki_!" Mokona cheered and jumped onto Iori's head. "And this Mr. Red-haired is so scary he's awesome!"

"Shut the hell up, meat bun!" Iori jeered and chased Mokona around the living room. Mokona laughed and evaded Iori's claws even as it continue calling him 'Mister Red-haired'.

Midori laughed again. "You two just remind of Mai and her younger brother," she uttered and looked at the clock. "Speaking of which, they should be home by now."

And she was right. The door opened and the said persons walked into the house, arguing over what seemed to be the ownership of a-- "rice cooker?" asked Negi as he saw the kitchen appliance being carried by the boy.

"_Oneechan_, just because I'm a boy doesn't mean I can't do house chores like you always do," the boy insisted.

"Takumi, I did tell you to act like a real boy, didn't I?" his older sister reprimanded.

"And you, _oneechan_, never acted like what you're supposed to be," he snorted.

The argument stopped. The sibling couple looked at the guests and suddenly laughed childishly. "Oh, we're very sorry. We didn't know Midori-_chan_ has guests," the girl uttered.

"Mai, these are the people we were told last week," Midori informed. "You did remember anything about it, didn't you?"

"Ah, yes! Now I remember." Clasping her hands, she bowed to the 'travellers' while elbowing her little brother to do the same. "I'm Tokiha Mai, and this is my little brother Takumi. _Yoroshiku_."

"_Yoroshiku onegaishimasu,"_ respectfully Takumi uttered.

"Okay, since everyone's here, why don't all of us go and have dinner?" Midori suggested and was responded by Mokona's excited cry. "Let's see… we should have steamboat and grilled beef with fried rice." Takumi suddenly volunteered and rushed to the kitchen; Mai followed him and before long their argument continued over who should be working on the meals. Midori laughed at the sibling quarrel before she led the 'travellers' to their room. "You should clean up before dinner. The ruins are surely a messy place to walk around."

"I agree," Iori uttered and shook his head. "I'm in serious need for a shower. My body smells like rotten flesh."

They arrived at the room. Big enough to accommodate the four _travellers_, yet small enough to fit in the house's limited space. "Well, I'll be waiting for all of you at the dining room. Okay?" Midori reminded and left. "Oh, yes. It's going to be rainy tomorrow, so I suggest you to stay here until it dissipates."

"What do you mean? We have feathers to look for," Iori spoke.

"Don't ask me. The weather's been acting weirdly for the past three months. Even the City Meteorology Department is baffled," the red-haired girl explained.

Shen cared nothing of it. For him, it was Mriya's feathers he should be more concerned of. Ignoring the self-proclaimed 'Gakuten Ranger' who left to the kitchen, he entered the room and carefully put Mriya on a mattress, before taking out the feather piece from his sleeve. Then, after staring at her face for a long time, he put the feather on her chest. It glowed -- at first it was faint, it later shone brightly and sank into her body. Almost at once, her cold body began to warm up and Shen could feel a flow of energy coursing through her nerves.

"_Doki_! She's waking up!"

They waited. Anxiously.

And then she opened her eyes.

"Uhm…" she moaned softly and turned her head to the right. Shen was holding her hand, feverishly staring into her eyes. "Who… are you?" weakly she asked.

"I'm Mokona!" Mokona introduced. "And these people are your friends! _Doki_!" Negi and Iori grinned, with the former waving to her as if saying 'hello'. "And this is Shen! He's the one who found your feather piece!"

Mriya turned her attention to Shen. "Miss Mriya, it's me. Do you remember?" he asked while tightening his grip on her frail hand. "I'm Shen. Remember? Kiev, where you found me?"

She looked perplexed. Then, to his surprise, she shook her head. "I don't remember… who are you?"

Shen was startled. She didn't remember? After all the hardships protecting the feather piece, she didn't remember anything about him? What was the revelation trying to tell him?

* * *

"_Listen, Shen. You may be able to salvage the feathers, but that doesn't mean she will remember you. There's no absolute guarantee she will regain every piece of her memory."_

* * *

"I see. This is the _price_ Miss Yuuko had told me earlier…" 

He let go off her hand, slowly stood up and walked out of the room. Mriya tried calling him back but he already closed the door shut. She tried standing upright and chased after her but then Iori told her to leave him. "He looks upset… did I just make him sad?" she asked and clenched her hands on her dress.

"I don't think you did, Miss Mriya," Negi uttered and sat next to her, putting Mokona on his lap. She looked at him, confused by the explanation and this made him laugh helplessly. "Well, I guess it's because you forget that you had met him before. But that's alright. You can get over it and become Mr. Shen's friend."

"Yeah, yeah, go figure," Iori spoke and approached the window. It already rained in the suburban and everything became drenched in the heavy shower -- including Shen. "Hey, meat bun, how the hell are we supposed to know when there's a feather out there? That finding was a fluke -- our luck couldn't go any better than that."

"That's simple! When Mokona detects the presence of feather, Mokona's eyes will open like this!" So saying its eyes widened and their retina shrunk to resemble cat's eyes. "See? If Mokona goes like this, that means the feather has to be somewhere around!" Then Mokona jumped off Negi's lap and landed in Mriya's arms. "Mokona will cheer you up! Mokona is an expert in cheering sad people! _Doki_!"

"We should inform Mr. Shen about this," Negi said before Iori told him not to. "But this is important to him, Yagami-_san_. Why mustn't I?"

"I wouldn't approach him if I were you, kid," Iori interjected. "For now, just let him clear up his mind. I bet he tries to tell himself he must accept her condition even if it's against his will."

x-x

Shen stood rigid. The fact that she _did not_ remember him was too unbearable to cope with, and he fought to accept it like how his body fought to endure the heavy downpour. If he wanted to cry, he needed to because nothing was more painful than saving someone only to find the person unable to remember his deed, thus paying it back.

"_Listen, Shen. You may be able to salvage the feathers, but that doesn't mean she will remember you."_

"Miss Mriya…" He clenched his hand into a fist and shook it fervently. "I swear… I swear to myself… I will look for your feathers and return to them to you… until you remember…"

_And the rain kept falling…_


	12. Red Fraction

**Heart of Melting Blood  
The Whistling Gale  
Written by:** Lone Wolf NEO  
**Conceived by:** Lone Wolf NEO

**Author's note: **_Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo_ and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. _The Whistling Gale_, the third instalment of the _Heart of Melting Blood_ saga, takes place several fan fiction months following all events in _Legend of the Moonlight_ and TWAAW's Machine Arc. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.

**Chapter 11  
Red Fraction**

Iori woke up. His face twitched in concern, perhaps because he had an unusual, strange dream. Casting his convoluted mind aside, he stared out of the window and at the crescent moon. His room-mates were soundly asleep; Negi was curling in foetal position beside Mriya, securely holding Mokona between his arms. Shen was asleep in a seated position, as if looking down at Mriya who was the only person to be sleeping in _futon_. He could not sleep anymore; the dream was as intriguing as it was disturbing.

"_What did the lion want from me?"_

x-x-x-x-x

The group was ready to go.

Despite the unpredictability of the weather, and Midori's worries that authorities would immediately detain them for the offence of lacking any travel documentation, they insisted to continue searching for Mriya's feather pieces. They had been tipped off by the Gakuten Rangers to be aware of the town's law-enforcers, who was on the lookout for fighting clans, and were reminded not to come too close to anyone of them.

"Now isn't that good?"

Their only reaction was sigh in amusement, as Midori complimented their new look. "Now, before anyone of you complains, I suggest you to stop. Your clothes were quite filthy and need to be cleaned," she said. "Besides, people won't suspect you in this look."

Iori looked at the cloth. He was not impressed. "What am I going to do about it? Walk the street and pose like a model?" he sneered.

Midori laughed. "I see you have bad taste toward fashion, Yagami-_san_. Sorry, but that's the only dress we have that fits your size," she said.

He shrugged. "Whatever," he growled.

Midori snickered at the response. "At least you look cooler in that," she replied with a wink.

He took no notice of the gesture and headed to the city. Midori shrugged at the cold response he gave and turned her attention to Shen and Negi. "So, good luck on… whatever you're looking for," she said with a wink. The twos nodded and bade her farewell before following Iori's lead; Negi was chasing him down the road.

They caught up with Iori. "So, got any _suggestions_?" Iori asked with a tone of sarcasm at the word 'suggestions'.

Negi shrugged. "I don't know. What about you, Mr. Shen?"

"I believe we should split up and search the whole town," Shen suggested. "It would be better if we try not to make our presence noticeable, however."

"Mokona agrees!" Mokona replied. "And besides Mokona smells something cooking! Mokona can't wait!"

"Yeah, whatever," Iori answered and shook his head. "I should do something today…"

They agreed to split and meet up at the junction after their search ended. So they separated. Mokona, Shen and Negi headed to the market while Iori headed to the opposite direction and went to the underground railway station. Negi watched at the Yagami Clan descendant who began to disappear from sight. "I wonder if he can be trusted," he spoke when he turned to Shen. "He doesn't look like he's going to help us."

"I know not," Shen replied, "but I'm putting my faith on him. He isn't going to let us down."

"Mokona agrees!" Mokona exclaimed and jumped onto Negi's head. "Mokona likes Mr. Red-haired! He's so awesome!" Then the fluffy creature sniffed something out of thin air and cooed in excitement. "It's chiccken dumpling!" Mokona jumped into the air and headed to the source of the food aroma. The two people stared at each other and nodded went to chase Mokona.

They arrived at a restaurant. Mokona was already inside, seemingly attracted by the appetizing smell of food. "This is the place?" Negi asked.

Shen read the banner on top of the entrance door. It read 'Raspberry Restaurant'. He, then, turned to Negi. "Since Mokona is already inside, we should give it a try."

"I agree." Negi led the way and both of them entered the restaurant, only to be greeted by confetti and party whistles. They stopped and, in utter confusion, looked at the greeters. "What was that for?"

"Welcome to Raspberry Restaurant!" one of the greeters spoke and continued sprinkling the confetti. "Both of you are our 100th customers. As a result, you're entitled for free coupons from our management."

Negi blinked. He swore his eyes were not playing fool at him. "Nodoka?"

The said person turned around. "Yes? How can I help you, sir?"

x-x-x-x-x

Iori continued his 'aimless' journey. He did not intend of searching for the feather pieces, opting to clear his mind firsthand before doing anything for the group. He did not take notice of commuters who stared at him in utter curiosity. All he cared of for now was to loiter around.

And he absolutely despised the sensation he was sensing. The city was filled with ill energy similar to that he felt when Orochi was awakened, yet more foul and disturbing. He could not tell whether it was from the feathers or from another source, yet he could tell it was not coming from the underground station.

He stopped. He found himself standing at an empty section of the underground railway. "Where the hell am I?" He looked around and saw no trace of people. "Now I'm lost. What's next?"

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Iori turned around and saw Nao walking out of a dark corner. The woman was grinning mischiveously as she licked her metal claws and fiddled with her fingers. "Do you care to accept my challenge, mister?"

Iori was irked. "What? Just because I look strange, you want to fight me, lady?" he jeered.

Nao wagged her finger. "I have a name, and that's Nao. Repeat after me: NA-O."

Iori grumbled. "I don't know what do you want from me, but get lost," he uttered. "I don't have any mood to do anything today."

Nao laughed. "Oh, that's too _sad_ to hear, mister," she mocked. "Care to let me comfort your heart?" With a snap of her fingers, Iori was surrounded by her minions. "So, what do you say?"

Iori frowned. He hated being ridiculed by people; "and by a red-haired woman, on top of that!" He summoned an intense purple flame from his palm and tossed it at Nao. He snapped in fury when the attack was inexplicably deflected by the humanoid spider beast. "Just who the hell are you?"

"I am a clan leader," Nao introduced," and this is my turf. Anyone who enters this area is subjected to tax payment and allegiance to our clan. If they refuse, well, we just kick them on the butt."

"I thought you are forbidden from clan battles," Iori spoke.

"Not with outsiders, however," Nao reminded and armed her metal claws. "I haven't had fun times fighting people, and you look worthy of an opponent."

Iori opened his battle stance. "You're horrible."

Nao laughed pointed at him. "Julia! Go!"

The beast shrieked and charged at Iori. Iori jumped aside to avoid Julia's scythe and counterattacked with a _Yamibarai_. The projectile was bounced off Julia's armour, and the beast responded with a web-shot from its mouth. Iori fired another _Yamibarai_ to nullify the web-shot and sent Julia crashing onto the wall with _Moon Harp Negative's_ shoulder tackle.

Nao jumped into the scene. She charged at Iori and delivered fast claw attacks at him. Iori was forced to defend himself from the merciless streams of jabs and punches (at the same time, Nao's followers mocked at him and stomped the floor aloud; the vibration caused the underground station to rumble). Iori snapped in anger and tossed _Yamibarai_ at the jeering crowd.

"Gotcha."

Nao jumped out of the way. Iori turned around and found himself rammed by a scorpion's tail. He was not allowed to fight back when Julia caught him by the collar and tossed him to the very end of the station. He was buried in debris as he crashed into the wall. Nao's followers cheered loudly and continued their tribal battle cries as their stomps became louder and louder.

"Wait!"

The group stopped cheering. Everyone, Nao included, stared at the rubble and were in shock to see Iori emerging from it relatively unscathed. "Fool, you just made me eat another mouthful of dust," he grumbled.

"Impossible! No one I know survives the attack!" Nao replied.

Iori, instead, had a streak of laugher. "Surprised? I bet you did."

Nao snapped. "I can't believe I'm being ridiculed by the red-haired! Julia! Attack! Full power! Don't hold back! Crush him!"

The half-human female spider shrieked and swung her scorpion tail at Iori for the second time. This time, he was prepared for the attack and crossed his arms.

The tail clashed.

An immense explosion shook the undergound station. Its shockwave was shot upward and made a hole on the ceiling as it shot upward. Debris flew everywhere, and Nao and her followers had to take cover from the falling ceiling.

The site was clear from dust. Iori opened his eyes. Slowly. He was astounded.

"You're here?"

He was staring into the eyes of a lion. The silverly glance of its war-driven eyes was as intense as the battle Iori was involved in. Calmly it approached Iori and stood next to it.

Nao gasped in horror. "It's the Silberlowe!"

The lion returned stare at Iori. He suddenly had a streak of grin carved across his face. "We had met in the dream," he uttered (the lion stooped its head as if to answer 'yes'). "Finally deciding to come to this real life, eh, lion king?"

The apparition answered with a mighty roar that shook the entire underground complex and made the group cower in fear. It later materialized into a fireball and fused with Iori's fist, forming what looked like a gauntlet. For a while, Iori was astounded by the transformation before he grinned and summoned his purple flame, now in mixture with the beast's bright orange blaze.

"Smart choice, whatever you are," he uttered and opened his battle stance. "You want me to _unleash_ your power? Then let's do it."

Nao was caught in terror. She commanded Julia to attack Iori with its strength multiplied while she herself jumped into the stage. Iori responded with a powerful _Yamibarai_ that knocked the clan leader out cold. He focused on Julia and deflected its scythes with the gauntlet. Julia shrieked aloud and fired web-shots; Iori summoned a purple flame shield that protected it from the projectiles.

"Weakling!"

Iori counterattacked with _Oniyaki_. The first hit of the uppercut was cancelled, juggled Julia and sent the beast off the ground. Immediately the red-haired Yagami heir braced, lifted his fists into the air and charged towards it.

He caught Julia.

"_Asobi wa owarida! Nake, sakebe!" Game is over! Cry, cringe, and writhe in pain!_

The ferocity and the viciousness of the _Kin 1211 Shiki: Ya Otome_, otherwise known as _The Eight Maidens Masher_ was something neither Nao nor her followers had anticipated, and they stepped back in fear at its inhuman properties.

"_**Soshite, SHINE!" Therefore, DIE!**_

The grapple imploded in purple flame. Julia was knocked off the ground, but Iori wasn't finished just yet. Laughing madly, he tossed multiple pillars of purple flame at the beast and ended it with a gigantic explosion of violet.

Julia crashed next to the dizzied Nao. She screamed in horror at what Iori had done to her beast and jumped at Iori. Easily he evaded her and sent her to her followers with _Aoihana Fist_. He laughed at Nao and made a 'cut-throat' taunt (she glowered in resentment at the red-haired fighter while wiping bloods off her lips). "Listen up, you," Iori uttered and waved a 'no-no' to her afterwards, "I don't give a damn of who you are or what do you want from me. There is _ONE_ thing you must know." Here he grinned and made his usual victory pose, pointing his gauntlet-equipped hand to the open hole.

"_Never forget me when you look at the moon."_

x-x-x-x-x

The group reunited at the promised junction after they were done with their researches. They headed back to Gakuten Rangers headquarters and arrived at the cottage in the nick of time; rain suddenly poured down onto the city and sent all activities to an impromptu halt. Things would not be going their way if they were caught in the freak weather.

"Well, did you get anything?" Iori asked as they gathered up in their room with the Rangers.

"We didn't," Negi answered, much to his chagrin, "but we did get some tip-off from the workers about the weather pattern." He paused, as if recalling a conversation he had with Nodoka, and continued. "The pattern is not random. According to the meteorology department, it can be predicted and their daily forecast has helped the citizens in avoiding the rains. Also…"

"Also?" Iori and the Gakuten Rangers stared at the young mage. "Go on, Negi. What's next? We're listening," Midori asked.

"The city's mayor also changed since the change of weather pattern three months ago," Negi continued. "Her officers are often cited on how she would dream of possessing the unseen power that came _with_ the weather pattern and claiming it as hers."

"That doesn't sound good," Mai uttered. "Mayor Fujino has always been drawn to absolute power ever since she took over the city's administration last year." She paused. It took a few seconds before she continued. "So what are you guys going to do next?"

Shen shrugged. "We know not," he answered.

"I suggest we better get this work done and leave as soon as we can," Iori interjected and shuddered. "Because I can't stand the foul energy this city emits. It sickens me."

"Mr. Red-Haired is right!" Mokona answered (Iori could only sigh in surrender at the nickname). "Mokona can feel a powerful energy surrounding this city, but Mokona cannot tell whether it's the feather or something else." It frowned afterwards. "Mokona is not happy."

"Since Negi is familiar with one of the workers (Negi bashfully replied, "it's nothing; I thought since we're travelling across multiple dimensions I expect to meet similar people in different environments), I believe we should concentrate some of our searches at the restaurant," Shen suggested. "It's much safer than to wander in the town without any protection."

"And Mokona wants to go there again! Its cake is so delicious!" Mokona declared and turned energetic as it usually was. "And the workers are quite lovely, too!"

"Good idea; we here can save up some of our funds while you people go and eat at the restaurant," Mai said before Takumi elbowed her. "What was that for, Takumi?"

"Don't be so stingy, _oneechan_," the boy reminded. "We do have enough money to spend until next year, right?"

"Takumi! That money is supposedly for this team's fund! It's not to be used for personal stuffs!" Mai answered.

"Oh, my beloved _oneechan_, don't keep the money yourself," Takumi mocked and faked tears. "I want some, too."

The sibling started arguing. It heated up when Iori and Mokona decided to join in. It later turned to a frenzied 'forum' with the interference by Midori and Negi. Shen could only laugh at their affair and turned to the still-sleeping Mriya. He smiled and softly held her hands. "Hang on there, Mriya. It won't be long."

And to his surprise, her hands unconsciously clenched back. It was barely noticeable, yet Shen knew she understood the struggle he had to face in retrieving her feathers. He put his other hand on her palm and clasped it firmly.

"_I promise you, Mriya. I'd do anything for you."_


End file.
